OCTA Officials Interview Finalists for CEO Post

Transit officials met Monday with five finalists for the job of chief executive of the Orange County Transportation Authority--a lineup that includes former Costa Mesa Mayor Peter Buffa and a former bus driver for the Los Angeles MTA.

Agency directors grilled the candidates on how they would run the $695-million agency, and said they hoped to announce their choice in two weeks.

“There’s not much we can say other than that the candidates have all brought top credentials to the table,” said OCTA Director and County Supervisor Todd Spitzer. “We’re shooting to have a name ready for our next board meeting.”

The finalists include Buffa, currently a consultant for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, and two OCTA staffers: Interim CEO Steve Wylie and External Affairs Director Bill Hodge. Two candidates from outside Orange County round out the list: Arthur Leahy, general manager of Metro Transit in Minneapolis, who began as a bus driver in Los Angeles, and transportation consultant Sharon Landers, a former deputy chief executive of the MTA in Los Angeles.

The new director, whom officials hope to hire before January, will lead the 1,600-employee agency through three critical areas in the coming months.

A key task of the new executive will be to take the lead in a controversial plan to bring light rail to Orange County. The so-called CenterLine project seeks to link the county’s vacation and commercial centers with 30 miles of passenger rail line. The system would cost $1.5 billion if built at ground level, and $2.3 billion if some of it is elevated.

Agency directors also fear that upcoming negotiations with union bus drivers could be the most difficult in years, particularly after the monthlong strike in Los Angeles. They will therefore look for a candidate experienced in successful union negotiations, a spokesman said.

Lastly, OCTA officials hope eventually to seek a reauthorization of the county’s Measure M transportation sales tax measure that expires in 2010, and will need a director adept at building support among local voters and local and federal officials.

OCTA began a nationwide search three months ago for a successor to Lisa Mills, who left the $143,000-a-year job to work in the private sector. Although applicants came from both east and west coasts, directors focused on those candidates with experience in Orange County politics or Southern California transportation.

Buffa has served on the Costa Mesa City Council for more than a decade and served on the Transportation Corridor Agencies, the entities that oversee county toll roads.

Wylie and Hodge also have deep connections to Southern California government. Before becoming the OCTA’s assistant CEO in 1997, Wylie was an assistant city manager in West Covina and a budget and legislative analyst in Burbank. Hodge, who has worked at OCTA for five years, is a former director of the Orange County division of the California League of Cities.

The two outside candidates, Leahy and Landers, also know Southern California transportation issues; both worked for the Los Angeles MTA. OCTA directors are interested in Leahy’s experience with shepherding a $625-million, 11.4-mile light rail system in Minneapolis that recently secured funding. The proposal encountered heavy opposition, particularly from conservative legislators who said the system cost too much and would serve relatively few riders.