Transit Board Candidates Press Ahead, Off the Radar
- September 9, 2010
AC Transit, the bus agency that serves Oakland, Berkeley and much of the East Bay, is facing a financial crisis.
The district, with an annual budget of more than $300 million and a daily ridership of 210,000, is confronting a $56 million budget shortfall over the next two years. It is at war with the drivers union. Widespread service cuts are pending.
Now, 24-year-old Mark Williams is stepping into the breach as a candidate for the powerful AC Transit Board. A student at Laney College, Mr. Williams lives with his parents in Castro Valley.
His opponent for the seat — which became open when Rocky Fernandez decided last month not to seek re-election — is Gavin Wilgus, 31, a graduate student.
It is a race that is not on the radar of most people except for the labor union members. When Mr. Williams and a half-dozen other board candidates filed into the Alameda Labor Council offices Wednesday for their endorsement interviews, Mr. Williams arrived early.
“My father taught me two things,” he said. “Always shake a man’s hand firm, and always keep your word. Show up when you say you’re going to show up.”
The platform for Mr. Williams — who sits on the Accessibility Advisory Committee for AC Transit — includes reducing the carbon footprint of AC Transit, making buses more accessible to the elderly and easing tensions with the drivers union, which has endorsed him.
Mr. Wilgus, who is studying public administration at California State University, East Bay, said he would like to increase ridership by marketing the bus line and improve communication with the union.
Four of the board’s six seats are being contested. Board members serve a four-year term and are paid about $1,000 a month. In the waiting room, none of the candidates had entourages of reporters or campaign consultants.
“It doesn’t have the same sexiness as City Council or mayor,” said Elsa Ortiz, a lawyer and an incumbent in the district that represents San Leandro and Oakland. “People don’t pay that much attention to it. As far as campaigns go, it’s low-hanging fruit — but don’t say that!”
James Sajadi, 63, a retired AC Transit mechanic, outlined his campaign plan: talking to people he knows. “I don’t campaign; I don’t have a penny to spend,” said Mr. Sajadi, a challenger in the Newark and Fremont district. “Not a sign, not a flier, nothing.”
Still, the issues are important. As they waited to be interviewed, Mr. Sajadi questioned Ms. Ortiz about how the situation had deteriorated on her watch. And she explained that with low tax revenue, and less state and federal financing, the board had been forced to make difficult decisions.
After the 30-minute labor council interview, Mr. Williams spoke excitedly about having known some of his questioners from political campaigns he had worked on. He said he had a good feeling.
“I hype everything up like it’s going to be the end of the world, but it was fine,” he said. “It was just like a discussion, and some of them told me they liked what I had to say.”
Read article: