New directors will take on infrastructure
Change came blasting into BART’s Board of Directors Tuesday night, with new directors set to be elected in San Francisco and southern Alameda County, and incumbents battling for re-election in eastern Contra Costa County and Oakland.
In a crowded race for an open San Francisco seat, Janice Li led Eva Chao by 30 to 20 percent, with nearly all precincts counted.
In District 6, which includes Fremont, Hayward, Newark and Union City, civil engineer Liz Ames held a strong lead over former Fremont City Councilwoman Anu Natarajan, 60 percent to 39 percent with 23 percent of precincts reporting.
In District 2, which stretches through eastern Contra County, incumbent Joel Keller was trailing challenger Mark Foley with nearly half of precincts counted. Foley had 61 percent of the vote to Keller’s 39 percent.
In Oakland, board President Robert Raburn was on track to keep his seat against retired Navy officer Paul Cummings for the District 4 seat. Raburn led by 56 to 43 percent with 16 percent of precincts tallied. Takeaway: This new iteration of the board will be tasked with overhauling BART’s aging and stressed infrastructure in the face of rising demand, and is expected to plan a second Transbay Tube. The board will also have greater control over development on its land, thanks to a recent state law. Background: The contest to succeed board Director Nick Josefowitz in San Francisco drew a wide assortment of candidates, including Chao, a business owner; Lyens, a labor negotiator; Li, a bicycle activist; and mechanical engineer Brian Larkin.
In the Fremont race, Natarajan ran as a proponent of building housing on BART parking lots, something the agency will be able to do more easily under the new state law. Ames, an advocate of open space, has been more skeptical of development. She staked her campaign on cleanliness and safety.
In Contra Costa, Keller is a 24-year veteran of the board, while Foley, a systems analyst, is an outspoken critic of BART — particularly of the new Antioch extension Keller championed.
In the Oakland race, Raburn, a former leader of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, ran for a third term. At his prodding, BART signed several wind and solar power contracts. His opponent, Cummings, emphasized public safety and quality-of-life issues.