Local News in Brief : Local Transit Hiring Urged
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn on Friday urged that both the RTD and the county Transportation Commission abandon their nationwide hunts for new chiefs and instead give the jobs to the acting general managers.
“Why go to Boston, Houston or Kansas City when we have two (people) right at home?” Hahn asked, referring to interim general managers Alan Pegg of the RTD and Paul Taylor of the Transportation Commission. Pegg succeeded John Dyer, who left the RTD amid controversy over alleged mismanagement, and Taylor replaced Mark Richmond, who took a job early this year with the New Jersey Transit Authority.
Earlier this year, Hahn had strongly urged the hiring of Houston transit czar Alan F. Kiepper to take over the RTD. But Kiepper ultimately declined the job offer, citing RTD’s financial woes and the political warfare between the RTD and the Transportation Commission.
Hahn said delays in finding permanent successors for Dyer and Taylor have exacerbated problems in the agencies, as well as slowing progress on plans to restructure the two-headed administration of Los Angeles’ transit system.
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