Candidate for
Director; San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; District 3

I believe that public officials are elected to serve the constituencies that elect them. As a Director for District 3, I will have the general responsibility for BART's overall direction, sound fiscal management, responsible stewardship of assets and public accountability. As the elected representative for District 3, I will have the distinct responsibility to strongly advocate for and pursue my constituents BART interests and issues. Below are my thoughts on some, but clearly not all of BART's significant issues.

MAJOR CHALLENGES - Major BART challenges include personal and system safety; funding and completing life and death dependent seismic repairs; reliability and accessibility; customer service and support; employee relations, community partnership; expansion determinations; and overall stewardship of public funds and agency assets. BART should be more entrepreneurial and more creative in addressing land use opportunities to generate additional revenue.

LEADERSHIP - The Board's responsibility is to articulate the vision, set direction and standards, provide clear and forward thinking policies that address the overall safety, health and the long-term strength of the system, be the overall caretakers of BART's assets, and hold staff accountable for implementation of these. District 3 will benefit from the type of new, visionary, active and engaged leadership that my track record demonstrates.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP - Other than its stations, tracks and trains, BART as an organization has frequently had no community visibility. I will personally reach out to District 3 residents, businesses, and elected and community leaders, to identify mutual interests and pursue beneficial community partnership opportunities. I will create a District 3 Riders Advisory Group to directly hear your BART related issues and perspectives and share information.

STAKEHOLDER TRUST - BART has many stakeholders including riders, employees, neighbors, elected officials and other governmental decision maker, and vendors but does not consistently engender their trust. One of my priorities will be to seek and develop active and ongoing relationships and communications with stakeholders who have an interest in BART. I will be active with and accessible to District 3 residents. I will work to improve the organizational culture related to communication and mutual respect for all BART employees at every level of the organization and will always maintain an open door.

MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT - It is the Board's responsibility is to hire, direct, and most importantly, hold accountable BART's top staff. One of my immediate priorities will be to review previously established management performance criteria to determine how it has been applied, tracked and evaluated. I will insist that management performance indicators be quantifiable and that the Executive Director be rigorously evaluated on a set schedule.

FUNDING - Securing adequate funding for optimally viable public transit is a constant challenge. BART's receives 60% of its operating funding from the fare box. BART's capital funding is dependent on federal dollars. I do not believe that BART has looked entrepreneurially at alternative revenue generating opportunities. I will explore creative approaches and push for more aggressive pursuit of beneficial land use initiatives that could generate additional revenue, including new retail activity and housing development. BART needs Board members who are well positioned and willing to lobby decision makers who can positively affect capital funding sources. My existing relationships with elected officials at every level can help in BART's quest to garner public funding.

PARKING - I support parking at BART because I believe it is a significant component of attracting and maintaining riders. I will explore more variation in fee/no fee parking in which certain areas of BART parking facilities charge a fee, for reserved and/or closer space, and other areas may be available at no fee. I will also explore the potential for fiscally responsible and neighborly development of new or reconfigured parking at appropriate stations.

EXTENSIONS - I believe that BART has a primary obligation to provide service to the citizens who have been a part of BART's jurisdiction and paid into the system since its inception. In good faith, voters residing in the BART District have approved funding measures for BART. In good faith, BART owes them primary consideration for any system extensions.

SEISMIC RETROFIT FUNDING- Seismic repairs are a matter of employee and passenger life and death, so therefore must be done, and addressed as immediately as possible. If Measure AA does not pass, BART will have to intensify efforts to secure more external and retain more internal resources. This includes stepping up efforts for additional funding from state and federal sources. As unpalatable as it may be, considerable belt tightening might have to occur. I will seek public input and Board agreement on a set of principals and priorities for applying internal resources to a seismic repair remedy. Further, I will demand that representation from a cross section of BART employees be invited to fully, and in good faith, participate with management in crafting solutions and, if necessary, cuts. Ultimately, if cuts must happen, I would seek a formula according to which spending reductions were applied in a proportionally equal manner across all levels of the organization. Additionally, I would aggressively pursue new and creative income generating opportunities that might include the siting and operation of private sector commercial enterprises on BART property. I would look at raising fares as a last resort.

CUSTOMER SERVICE - BART must stop thinking of the people on its trains only as "ridership" and begin recognizing that you are BART's customers. To increase the customer base, BART should deliver better service, and appropriate and valuable amenities. Riding BART should become increasingly effortless with initiatives such as more descriptive signage. Better service might be realized with cleaner stations and trains by increasing current cleaning standards and assessing related processes for potential streamlining, training employees in customer service, and making public presence and helpfulness an employee evaluation criteria. Better customer amenities could include installing wi-fi, and/or cell phone capability throughout the system (which could also result in revenue generating opportunities through the letting of provider agreements or franchises), and providing a more convenient demagnetized ticket exchange process. BART also has to do a better job of public education on the economic and environmental value of commuting on the system. As an independent businessperson, I understand that customer satisfaction and delivery of good consumer benefits are essential to stay in business and increase sales. I will apply my over 20 years experience providing products and services to the consuming public to improve BART's service delivery.

BICYCLES ON BART - Through choice or necessity, many people bicycle to BART. As the backbone of our Bay Area public transportation system, BART must be sensitive and accommodating to all of our customers. I have watched in astonishment as bike riders struggle to walk their bikes up stationary stairs or try to stuff them in elevators that are not always working. To constructively address bike access issues, BART must listen to those most impacted. I would seek to establish an official bicycle advisory group to recommend policies and promote ideas for improving conditions for bicyclists trying to access the BART system.