3 Officials Leave MTA in Key Shake-Up

Three top executives of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who were responsible for overseeing rail construction contracts and other major purchases have abruptly left the agency in a key personnel shake-up.

Michael O’Connor, the MTA’s executive director of procurement, suddenly left the agency Friday after a little more than a year on the job. Two deputy executive directors in the troubled department, Richard Carron and Anne Fischer, were also replaced.

MTA Chief Operating Officer Allan Lipsky, who announced the departures at a department meeting Friday, refused to be interviewed Monday about what led to the sweeping changes.

“Procurement needed a fresh start,” Lipsky said in a statement. “It was overburdened by process. Other departments have improved, but procurement hasn’t kept pace.”

MTA’s contracting for construction on the Metro Rail subway and purchases of everything from brake linings for buses to cleaning fluid have been the source of controversy in recent years.

By far the most controversial issue was the handling of a major construction management contract for an extension of the Red Line subway from Union Station to the Eastside. The agency’s financial problems forced a halt to the subway extension last year.

In that case, former MTA Chief Executive Officer Joseph Drew defied the recommendation of a panel of experts and instead recommended another politically well-connected bidder for the $65-million contract.

The resulting furor over the contract sparked creation of a procurement department separate from the MTA’s rail construction unit.

The MTA’s contracting and purchasing has been a source of difficulty since the agency was established in 1993 after the merger of the county Transportation Commission and the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

O’Connor had been hired from the Bay Area Rapid Transit District in June 1998 to head the procurement operation. Carron has worked for the MTA or one of its predecessors since 1983. Fischer joined the organization in 1991.

In recent months, O’Connor was forced to explain to MTA board members problems with rail construction and project management contracts as well as difficulties with bidding for other purchases.

“They felt he didn’t bring leadership,” said one MTA source. “There were too many complaints. He was not able to get purchases through.”

While a search for O’Connor’s replacement is underway, Gwendolyn W. Williams, a deputy executive officer of rail construction, will take over as the acting head of procurement.

Williams said she intends to use her first month on the job to identify the issues within the department.

“I’m going to do the best I can,” Williams said in a statement. “There’s a lot of healing that needs to take place.”