MTA Chief Says He Will Step Down Soon

Julian Burke, the 73-year-old chief executive officer of the troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority, announced Monday that he will leave the agency within a few months.

Burke said he will step down as soon as a successor is found. He said he will continue to serve the agency as an advisor, if requested.

“I’m committed to this agency,” he said. “I will work to ensure a smooth transition. I’ll work hard until I turn in the keys.”

The corporate turnaround expert was tapped by then-MTA Chairman Mayor Richard Riordan in August 1997 to head the transit agency. Burke immediately worked to stabilize the MTA’s finances, halt construction of subway extensions to the Eastside and Mid-City areas, and stop work on a light-rail line to Pasadena. A new agency is now undertaking construction of the line from Union Station to Pasadena.

Burke decided to leave the top transit job in Los Angeles after reaching a number of milestones, including negotiation of new labor contracts with unions representing the vast majority of the MTA’s employees. But in the process, the agency and its riders endured a crippling 32-day strike last fall that was the longest transit stoppage in the city in more than 20 years.

After the walkout, the United Transportation Union, representing the MTA’s bus drivers and train operators, approved a new three-year contract. The union representing the MTA’s mechanics and maintenance workers ratified a new contract last week. The last of the MTA’s unions, representing clerical workers, is due to vote on a tentative agreement next week.

Burke took credit for improvements in the MTA’s bus system and for completion of the last segment of the Metro Rail subway from Hollywood to the San Fernando Valley--on time and within budget.

MTA Chairwoman Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who is not related to the chief executive, expressed gratitude for his service and regret that he will be leaving.

‘I don’t think it’s an understatement to say Julian Burke transformed the MTA,” she said. “This is a much more stable agency and one that has a much better customer focus than the MTA that existed before Julian Burke became CEO.”

Monday’s announcement comes only six months before Riordan, the most powerful member of the MTA board, leaves the mayor’s office. The next mayor will control four of the 13 votes on the MTA’s board and will, to a large extent, determine the agency’s future priorities.