In 2016, I promised to bring common-sense leadership to the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). I promised to focus on improving the personal safety of BART riders and workers. I promised to bring more financial transparency and oversight to BART’s $2.4 billion annual budget while remaining politically independent, not beholden to special interest groups. I believe I have fulfilled those promises.

The voters of central Contra Costa noticed my determination to bring change to BART and re-elected me overwhelmingly in 2020, despite active opposition from BART labor unions and 6 of 9 sitting BART Board Directors. They recruited, funded and coached my opponent. An estimated $150K was spent by public employee labor unions alone to unseat me. The current board President contributed $20K to my opponent.

But they lost, and Contra Costa won in the battle for independent leadership and common-sense in 2020. I was re-elected with 64% of the vote in a 3-way race in the height of the COVID19 pandemic. Now, that second term comes to a close this year, and after considerable discussion with my family and business partners, I have decided to step aside and not run for re-election to a third term. But I believe a suitable replacement has stepped up to the plate, Mayor of Pleasant Hill Matt Rinn.

The filing deadline for the seat is closed and only Mayor Rinn applied. I know Matt well, and I'm confident that he will be a great BART Director and will continue the work I started in 2016 to strengthen the oversight and fiscal accountability of the 5th largest transit agency in the United States of America.

I knew when I began my first term in office that BART faced difficult challenges. I stepped up to tackle them with determination and I will continue to do that to the end of my term this December. I also knew I would be outnumbered and to make change would be a tremendous climb uphill pushing a wheelbarrow full of rocks. It still is, but I will continue to diligently work to keep the conversation focused on sound fiscal policy and common sense and I will work closely with incoming Director Rinn during the transition.

The pandemic and the resulting economic devastation from the over 50% loss of ridership, have only compounded these challenges. While I’ve managed to bring oversight and accountability to the agency during my first 8 years on the board (from a minority position), much work remains to bring BART to a place of financial and operable stability, as we face perpetual annual structural deficits of over $350 million and growing.

Unfortunately, the urban directors who control the BART board majority continue to focus on misguided agendas that have slowed BART's recovery from the pandemic as one of the worst in the nation. For more context, read my recent opinion piece in the East Bay Times regarding BART in crisis.

My successor will have a big job to do and I hope you all will give him the same support and love you have given to me over the last 8 years.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your BART Board Director for District 1 for the last 8 years. Be assured, I will continue to be involved in taxpayer oversight and good governance of local and state government in the future.

Sincerely,

• Pushed common-sense solutions to the rampant fare evasion problem that costs BART as much as $50 million a year. At my urging, BART agreed to replace fare gates, raise railings, enclose all elevators in the paid area, install new locking emergency gates, and enhance surveillance measures. All those measures are underway. It is widely agreed upon that eliminating fare evaders will greatly improve rider safety by decreasing criminal behavior throughout the system. I project that the $90 million cost of fare gate replacement will be fully recaptured by BART within 7 years due to increased fare revenue and rider satisfaction and reduced costs of police service and maintenance.  
  
• Worked to expand police officer presence on trains and in stations by filling the 47 officer positions that were vacant when my term began and strongly advocating for a plan to hire an additional 19 new officers a year for five years.
• Proposed a new ordinance that would prohibit all panhandling activity inside the fare gates, a common-sense proposal to improve the rider experience on trains that San Francisco directors opposed.
• In 2020-2022, stood up to other board members and their anti-police followers to oppose calls for de-funding and disarming the BART police department and replacing police officers with non-sworn civilian ambassadors sourced from local community based organizations for vulnerable populations.
• Worked closely with all levels of BART Police Department on ideas for more cost efficient operation and staffing of the department and expediting the hiring processes.
• A leader since 2017 in the inception, creation, development, and growth of BART's only independent oversight program, the first-ever independent Office of the BART Inspector General. It's mandate is to address fraud, waste, and abuse solely at BART. I continue to work closely with the BART IG to develop protocols, internal controls, and rules of transparency to ensure accountability to the public who funds BART. You can find the reports generated by the Office of BART Inspector General HERE.
  

• Led the effort to create a funding plan for repayment of BART's over $1 billion of unfunded pension and OPEB liabilities.
• Served on key BART and regional transportation boards and committees including: 

- Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority Board

- Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA)

- West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee

- CCTA Accessible Transportation Strategic Policy Advisory Committee

- CCTA Innovate 680 Committee

- Pleasant Hill BART Leasing Joint Powers Authority

• Served as Chair of the BART Board Administration Committee
• Founding driver of the formation of the first ever Ad-Hoc Audit Committee which became the permanent Audit Committee in 2020. It was formed to provide oversight of the many internal and external audits of the BART organization and advise the Board of Directors on significant matters.
• The founding Chair of the permanent Audit Committee and the only continuous member of the BART Audit Committee since inception.
  
• Founding driver of the formation of the Ad-hoc Financial Structure Advisory Committee, formed to study and oversee the reorganization of the entire finance function at BART, which should result in substantial gains in efficiency and internal controlsoversee the agency’s financial and performance audits.
• Analyzed budgets in depth as we worked through the devastation of our revenue sources by the pandemic economic impacts. Exposed the true budget picture to the public that operating expenses went up by 6% year over year, in spite of an 88% loss in ridership.
• Proposed fare gate replacement funding be prioritized with measure RR access money.
  
• Led the critical review of financial reporting and internal processes with the goal of developing new ideas on improving efficiency and overall operations. 
• Spent hundreds of hours in meetings with BART management and staff to understand the internal workings of BART and its many challenges.
  
• Spent hundreds of hours with community groups and the public listening to what the public wants from BART.