Art Leahy, Outgoing CEO of the MTA: Made in the USA

TRANSPORTATION LA-The announcement by Metro (or MTA) CEO Arthur T. Leahy that he would conclude his tenure when his contract ran out April 5, 2015 was and is a shock to all who knew him and worked him for the past few decades.  There's something about the story of a bus driver who worked his way up the ranks to being a CEO that is truly American--in particular because this man was truly of the people, by the people and for the people.  

For those of us transit advocates who knew him since he worked as Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) CEO, he was always approachable, and always considered to be down-to-earth, pragmatic and truly caring about the ordinary individual.  After all, he took pride in his roots, and recognized that money well-spent meant services that would benefit the most people. 

Mr. Leahy, or "Art", followed in the footsteps of another great MTA CEO, Roger Snoble.  In an era of excesses and inappropriate spending in the LAUSD, the LADWP, and budgetary excesses from the City of Bell to the City of Los Angeles, both Mr. Snoble and Mr. Leahy refreshingly prioritized cost-effective spending and keeping things as "lean and mean" as possible with respect to how the MTA budget was and is being spent. 

While there always remains room for improvement, the LACMTA (LA County MTA, or Metro) is a reassuring reminder of what happens when responsible budgeting occurs in the public sector.  When there isn't much more room for cost reduction, and a desire for increased service exists among the taxpayers, the taxpayers will come out and do their part. 

As operating costs went up (which, inevitably, they will when there are more buses, trains and related services transporting), so did fares.  Art Leahy, forever a man of the people and who never forgot his riders/commuters, encouraged the Metro Board to make the unpopular move to raise fares (despite understandable concerns that this would hurt lower-income riders) when that was necessary to keep the Metro budget balanced. 

A balanced budget...what a concept!  It's hoped that our next MTA CEO won't have to be convinced to recognize that math is immutable and apolitical, and that budget deficits lead to ever-worsening operations and morale to both the public sector and the taxpayers who pay for public sector services.

And when the budget is balanced, then the case can be made to sell the taxpaying public (including those who don't use public transportation) to shell out more money for new and expanded services.   

That happened in 2008 during the term of former MTA CEO Roger Snoble with the passage of Measure R, and incoming MTA CEO Art Leahy was the right man to make sure that the Measure R money was appropriately spent. 

During an era where a corrupt, inefficient and potentially fraudulent iPad spending fiasco occurred at the LAUSD, and a host of budgetary inefficiencies and oversight at the LADWP and City Hall dominate the news on a virtually daily basis, Metro continued to make tough decisions (some more controversial than others) and create one of the most service-oriented and high-ridership transportation systems in the nation. 

Those of us who don't use the growing number of buses, trains and vanpools operated by the MTA don't know that over 1.1 million bus and rail boardings each day is an awful lot of service...but that occurred under Art's watch, and will inevitably increase as the skeletal network of bus and trains evolve from the disjointed and unconnected systems that once prevented self-respecting commuters from taking Metro. 

Under Art's watch, he oversaw extensions of the Expo, Purple and Foothill Gold Lines, the initiation of construction of the Crenshaw/LAX and Downtown Light Rail Connector Lines, and an overhaul of the Blue Line. Union Station near Downtown LA will increasingly be a hub of both our county and regional bus and rail networks. 

It's easy to critique the MTA for past and present projects, but the staff deserves recognition that--compared to most local public agencies, they are much more responsive and sincere than their counterparts at the LAUSD and LADWP.  

In my own personal experience, while I have privately and publicly disagreed with Metro staff at times, I'd have to conclude that the staff (and it should be remembered that most Metro screwups are at the political/Board level, not the staff level) respects their constituents, and is quick to make nice and provide excellent outreach to the communities that they serve. 

So who shall replace Art Leahy, and what outgoing efforts can or should he make? 

That's hard to say, but after Snoble and Leahy it's safe to say that the Metro Board should recognize that the new CEO will have to prioritize the commuters and taxpayers first.  Cronyism or incompetence should continue to be aggressively outlawed, and a professional demeanor should continue to be Priority #1 at Metro. 

Art Leahy might or might not offer public or private advice as to how his successor should proceed, but it's hoped that the aftermath of Art Leahy's amazing career experience would have a lasting effect at Metro with: 

1)  Continued relationships that are cooperative and professional between management and the workforce, including the union leadership, that should remain focused on quality jobs, quality salaries and benefits, and (most of all) quality service to the public.  Fares have gone up, taxes have gone up, so the lack of disputes and acrimony over pay and benefits is one that must be continued into the indefinite future. 

2)  An updated Metro Long Range Transportation Plan that is focused on both the reality of 2015 as well as the near-future of a "Measure R-2" and a 2024 Los Angeles Olympics bid.  In other words, prioritize on the political and ridership realities to make sure that a "Measure R-2" is both transparent and voter-focused, and to make sure that transit hubs at Downtown and LAX will become a reality by 2020-22. 

3) A better interface of Metrolink and Metro/MTA services, because commuters and taxpayers just don't care that the MTA and Metrolink are separate agencies--they want a clean, easy coordination of services between the two networks.  For example, the easy pedestrian transfer of commuters between Metrolink and Eastside Light Rail stations is as obvious a goal as the transfer between Burbank Airport and Burbank Metrolink station.

4) Continued increase of vanpool and connecting Rapid Bus lines to our growing rail infrastructure, because public transportation shouldn't be only for the poor and disabled.  Using public transportation shouldn't be based on one's lack of access to a car, or even the well-meant goal of improving the environment--the best way to enhance use of public transportation is to make it so attractive that to do otherwise would be ridiculous. 

Most importantly, Art's successor must strive to be a man or woman of the people, both willing to make tough decisions and able to do outreach to the ordinary citizens who--particularly in this day and age of the Internet--are increasingly savvy to current events, and are increasingly engaged in trying to make LA County Metro the best transportation system in the nation, if not in the world. 

Thank you, Art Leahy, for an amazing career and for being an excellent role model of professionalism, of pragmatism, of moral integrity, and for your service to the hard-working commuters and residents of Southern California.

 

(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Board member of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected]  He also does regular commentary on the MarkIsler Radio Show on AM 870, and co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.) 

-cw

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 13 Issue 3

Pub: Jan 9, 2015