The new head of Island Transit should come without baggage.

The transit board may name an interim director Friday, though it has made little effort in finding a permanent director, much to the consternation of some of its harshest critics.

The board members have said they want someone with transit experience to take the helm, which makes sense.

There are, however, other qualities that are also essential to the job.

The man or woman who will lead the vital but embattled agency on both an interim and permanent basis should be an outsider, someone who doesn’t have any political alliances or conflicts of interest. Someone who represents a clean break from the past.

The new leader will need to unite the factions that developed in the wake of troubles within the agency. IT needs a leader who believes in total transparency and can educate the public on how important transit service is to the entire island community.

The serious leadership problems have overshadowed this simple fact.

The next transit chief should be open to ideas such as charging fares or allowing advertising on buses. The revenue-boosting ideas may or may not make financial sense. Such decision should be made based on research and facts, not personal preferences or philosophies.

In light of IT’s financial management problems, the new director should, of course, have a keen understanding of public finance. And above all, the new director needs to be accessible and accountable to the public.

The public will get a chance to meet the board of directors’ candidates for the interim executive director position at 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14 at the Island Transit Operations and Administration Building on State Highway 20 near Coupeville.

Unfortunately, the board opted to meet in secret to evaluate the candidates that day. While it’s not unusual for public agencies to discuss applicants for administrative positions in private, it isn’t a legal necessity. It’s the board’s choice to hide behind closed doors.

With all the questions and criticism surrounding IT and the board, it would have been a wiser move to remain completely transparent in this hiring process. It would have set a welcome tone.