MTA Board Chaffing Over Delay in Appointing Inspector General

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has repeatedly postponed the appointment of an inspector general--the agency’s watchdog--causing what some of its board members consider an unseemly delay as the MTA struggles to gain the public’s trust.

Filling the position--widely viewed as critical to overseeing the award of multimillion-dollar contracts--has been delayed by MTA Chairman Richard Alatorre, some board members say. Alatorre has pushed for the selection of Ernie Fuentes, the former inspector general of the defunct Southern California Rapid Transit District.

Fuentes was not among the final candidates selected by an independent panel. Until the job is filled, Fuentes remains responsible for oversight of the agency’s contracts.

Alatorre, who is a city councilman, declined to return repeated calls.

“Richard Alatorre personally saw to it that the interviews of the short list (of candidates) this summer were canceled and he has not rescheduled them,” said a board member who requested anonymity. “He and some powerful people at the MTA are satisfied with the existing inspector general, but that’s in conflict with the MTA board, which asked for a national search.”

Another board member, who also asked for anonymity, said: “Alatorre supports the present person in the position; he is very supportive of the person. We all have friends and this was a friend of his.”

Gardena councilman and MTA board member Jim Cragin said Alatorre removed him from the committee responsible for approving the candidates because Cragin had endorsed the independent panel’s recommended short list, which did not include Fuentes.

“Why do we have a subcommittee doing all these interviews if we are going to pay no attention to what they say?” Cragin asked.

Shortly after Cragin aired his opinion, Alatorre removed him from the Executive Management Committee--a move that Cragin characterized as an attempt to influence the committee’s decision. Cragin said he repeatedly asked Alatorre why he was being removed from the committee but did not receive an answer.

“Richard (Alatorre) moved me off the executive committee for a purpose--he’s getting the votes to put his friend Ernie Fuentes in,” Cragin said. “He couldn’t control me. The word is that I’m a straight shooter.”

Fuentes, who declined to comment, joined the RTD in 1987. Alatorre joined that agency’s board three years later.

The MTA--the result of a merger of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and the RTD--has launched an ambitious $163-billion plan to create a transportation network for the region. But the agency has been shadowed by accusations of inadequate oversight of contracts lodged against one predecessor--the defunct Transportation Commission. A recently released audit found that because of lax controls, transportation contracts increased an average of 388% after they were awarded.

“We do need an inspector general,” county Supervisor and MTA board member Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said. “It’s a very important spot and we are getting to a crucial time.”

The battle over appointing an inspector general began in spring when county Supervisor and MTA board member Gloria Molina insisted that the watchdog’s role was vital to preserving the agency’s integrity. Molina prompted the board to conduct a nationwide search.

In April, the MTA board directed a committee to select qualified candidates within 60 days. The search was conducted by an independent four-member panel that reported its results in July to an arm of the MTA board, the Executive Management Committee.

Though well past its deadline, action on the matter stalled after the panel selected a group of five candidates that did not include Fuentes.

The candidates who appeared on the short list had been scheduled for interviews in Los Angeles on July 26. Board members say Alatorre canceled the interviews, rescheduling them for July 30. But that meeting was also canceled and has not been rescheduled.

In part, the delay was a result of Mayor Richard Riordan getting up to speed on transportation issues upon taking office in July. Riordan replaced Alatorre on Aug. 25 as chairman of the Executive Management Committee--a move that some say will jump-start the stalled process.

“Riordan sees this as a critical position for the MTA and wants to take care of it quickly,” said Deputy Mayor Rae James.

Alatorre has drawn support from some board members.

In a recent meeting, MTA alternate board member Marv Holen recommended that the group discard the independent panel’s selections. Citing flaws in the selection process, Holen said the full Executive Management Committee should interview all eight candidates, including Fuentes.

Holen, a former RTD board president, said he objected to the selection process because the independent panel ranked the candidates, though it had not been asked to do so. Holen said the panel’s recommendation was skewed because one member had not been available for all the interviews.

Holen said he did not discuss his recommendation with Alatorre before the meeting.

Some MTA board members said they worried that the candidates would seek other positions.

“If I were an (inspector general) candidate and had put my life on hold, I’d wonder what kind of agency I’d be working for,” said Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, an MTA alternate board member. “The inspector general is one way we are going to keep the agency honest. There has been foot-dragging. . . . If the board doesn’t get on with it, we are going to look foolish.”