BOULDER - John Tayer, who was appointed president and chief executive of the Boulder Chamber in November, will resign from his elected position on the Regional Transportation District board of directors.

In a letter of resignation dated Tuesday, Jan. 8, Tayer wrote that his new role at the chamber "is placing demands on my time that will conflict with my RTD board obligations."

Tayer was elected in 2006 and 2010 to four-year terms on the RTD board representing District O, which includes Boulder, Louisville, Lyons, Superior and Boulder County's mountain communities. In his resignation letter, Tayer wrote that he would remain in his post until Boulder County commissioners appoint an interim successor who would serve at least until the 2014 election.

In his letter, Tayer cited his work to preserve the EcoPass program and develop a multimodal rapid-transit plan for the U.S. Highway 36 corridor between Boulder and Denver, and acknowledged his constituents' disappointment with the delay in bringing commuter rail to his district.

"Arriving on the board at a time when RTD first realized it did not have the resources to meet its original FasTracks commitment," he wrote, "there are obvious reasons why the effort to secure the best outcome for my Boulder County constituents and the rest of the RTD region has been a priority during my tenure."

At the chamber, Tayer succeeded Susan Graf, who resigned in May after more than eight years at the organization's helm. He had served on its board of directors and was a spokesman for Corden Pharma Colorado Inc. (previously Roche Colorado) for more than a decade.

Tayer has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Michigan and a law degree from the University of Colorado. He began his career in Washington, D.C., as an aide to U.S. Sen. Brock Adams, D-Wash.