Transit panel has work to do
BART, the transit tie that binds much of the Bay Area, has a knack for concentrating and showcasing the region’s ills. With a housing crisis forcing commutes that overwhelm infrastructure, the commuter rail has never been more needed — or more glaringly unequal to its task.
Elections for four of nine seats on BART’s Board of Directors come as the agency is struggling to keep its stations and trains clean, orderly and safe, with disproportionate rates of violent crime and revenue-robbing fare evasion. Even as passengers pack the system at rush hour, they vote with their Clipper Cards on nights and weekends, opting for alternatives and further sapping the system of fares. In short, the victorious candidates will have work to do.
Board Vice President Nick Josefowitz’s run for San Francisco supervisor has drawn a crowd to succeed him in BART’s District 8, encompassing the city’s northern, western and southern neighborhoods. The best of the competitive bunch is Melanie Nutter, a former city Department of the Environment director who articulates a serious but measured approach to the system’s problems. Nutter recognizes the need to deal with crime and homelessness, as well as the pitfalls of heavy-handedness. Another promising candidate, former City College trustee William Walker, offers a pragmatic transit rider’s perspective on how to make BART cleaner, safer and easier to use.
Another expected exit, by Director Thomas Blalock, led to the contest in District 6, stretching from Hayward to Fremont. Candidate Liz Ames, a civil engineer and open-space advocate, is skeptical of BART’s efforts to add housing to its property and would focus on safety and cleanliness. The better choice is Anu Natarajan, a planner and former Fremont councilwoman with pro-housing views matching the region’s desperate needs and the experience to advance her vision.
District 2 Director Joel Keller, representing a swath of Contra Costa County including Concord and Pittsburg, faces a challenge from Mark Foley, a systems analyst and union leader at the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Foley is an able critic of BART’s operations, labor relations and recent Antioch extension. But Keller, a steady advocate for public safety and fiscal caution, is working to fix the Antioch parking shortage and deserves re-election.
Board President Robert Raburn, who represents the Oakland-centered District 4, is also seeking another term. Raburn is aware of and gradually addressing BART’s struggles with safety, fare evasion, and capacity, but he also embodies the lack of urgency that pervades the agency. Unfortunately, his opponent, retired Navy officer Paul Cummings, is long on pique but short on solutions. Raburn gets our endorsement by default.