Interim Chief Unanimously Selected RTD Manager

Alan F. Pegg, a certified public accountant whom the RTD quietly hired in mid-1987 as its treasurer-controller, ascended to the transit agency’s top administrative post Thursday by a unanimous vote of the RTD board of directors.

The board’s unexpected action makes permanent the assignment Pegg took on Feb. 1, 1988, when he was named the RTD’s interim general manager, succeeding the much-criticized John Dyer.

Dyer’s tenure with the Southern California Rapid Transit District had been marked by a series of controversies, including alleged mismanagment, a poor safety record and a legislative effort to abolish the district.

Pegg, by contrast, has impressed board members with his low-key but firm management style--so much so that the board shelved a nationwide hunt for a successor.

The board’s decision was “done with a great deal of thought,” said Gordana Swanson, RTD board president.

“The board believes Alan Pegg has done an excellent job restoring public confidence and putting into place a number of management changes that have improved service, efficiency and management of the district,” she said. “We believe he is the man to lead construction efforts on Metro Rail and improve the district’s bus services.”

In Pegg’s six months at the helm, the agency has negotiated new labor contracts with drivers and other workers and taken tentative steps forward with the Metro Rail subway project. Another of his decisions as acting chief was to place RTD Police Chief James Burgess on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations that Burgess engaged in nepotism and ticket-fixing.

Pegg has also shown mettle in defending the RTD’s fare hikes in the face of public criticism as well as in occasional jousts with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, the transit agency that has been feuding with the RTD.

Pegg, who turns 43 today , was typically low-key in a brief acceptance speech: “I thank the board very much for its expression of confidence . . . I look forward to helping make RTD the best transit agency it can be.”

Pegg’s current salary is $99,800. Another contract will be negotiated for his new position, officials said.

Earlier this year, the RTD board had hired an executive search firm, Korn Ferry International, to hunt for a permanent general manager. The RTD courted Houston transit chief Alan Kiepper, but Kiepper ultimately decided against the Los Angeles job.

When the RTD board chose Pegg as Dyer’s temporary replacement, it had passed over several other top RTD executives who had been at the district longer but were more closely associated with Dyer.

Before joining the RTD, Pegg served for 4 1/2 years as the department’s manager of finance and was assistant treasurer of Metra, a commuter rail system serving the Chicago area.

He also worked for six years for the Regional Transportation Authority in Chicago, investing cash balances and performing special projects before being promoted to accounting manager. Before entering the transit field, Pegg worked in the accounting firm of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell in Rock Island, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa.