Aug
05
Handicapping the Walder replacement race
ByWhile some folks in Albany want to lower the next MTA CEO’s salary, Streetsblog has handicapped the race to replace Jay Walder. In an extensive piece that examines both internet and external candidates for the job, Noah Kazis offers up thumbnails on those who could be under consideration. If Gov. Cuomo looks internally, he could tab Transit head Thomas Prendergast, LIRR president Helena Williams or current COO Charles Monheim. The external names are more intriguing.
First, Kazis runs down the list of those who have MTA experience. He mentions bringing back Elliot Sander, but with the ongoing signal scandal and various other issues stemming from Sander’s last term atop the MTA, that’s a non-starter. Marc Shaw’s name will resurface, but he wasn’t too popular the last time around. The two names that intrigue me the most in the Streetsblog piece are Nat Ford, former head of the San Francisco MTA, and Edgar Sandoval, the first managing director of TransMilenio in Bogota. An international pick could signal an attempt at true reform that has evaded the MTA over the past decade.
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Thought the rumormill in SF was a three shuffle between BART, AC Transit, and Muni with people moving in those directions. Thought there was Ford would head to AC Transit. But don’t know. Maybe that’s changed now with the carrot and prestige (?) of running MTA dangled in front.
Well it looks like Grace Crunican, formerly number 2 at the DOT under Clinton and several other gigs, is headed to be BART head that would shift the calculus in the Bay Area. Interesting analysis of what BART was looking for: a stronger manager who had federal contacts.
It will be either Williams or Sadik-Khan.
If those are the options, I might grudgingly accept JSK.
Sadik-Khan would get yelled down 24/7, probably worse than other replacements, due to her involvement in daring to make NYC walkable and more bike-friendly.
I find the city increasingly less walkable. The new lights are infuriating. I find myself running more than ever.
I was referring to increased sidewalk space and the ongoing projects of increasing pedestrian space on plazas. I don’t pay much attention to the timing of walk lights, sorry. But you get my point of course, the Legion of Idiocy would rip Cuomo’s head off for appointing her.
Better that than someone who heads the LIRR. That would be the transit equivalent of a hedge fund that appoints a former Lehman Brothers executive as its CEO.
I doubt it will happen, but I’d like to see the MTA abolished and NYCT given back to the City. Then Prendergast would report through JSK to Bloomberg, Helena Williams would report directly to NYSDOT and Nassau County would really have to face dealing with their bus situation.
The MTA hasn’t succeeded. The other day I saw a map of the transportation services in London that accept Oystercard. It would make you weep.
Of the three people mentioned on Streetsblog, Prendergast seems to have the best pedigree. The LIRR history is a black mark, but Translink more than counters it.
For what it’s worth – from what I’ve read, Nat Ford was the highest-paid city employee in San Francisco ($308k annual salary), looked for other jobs while he was at Muni and left the agency not long before tough union negotiations started.