Let’s Meet Our New Muni CEO!

I’m back!
First, let me just say how many of you were so kind with your emails, comments, Twitter & Tumblr comments over the last month regarding the passing of my dad in July. It was very kind and appreciated by the family.
Now, it’s time to write again. There’s been quite a lot of activity this past month, not the least of which was of course the replacement of Nathaniel Ford with Ed Reiskin, formerly at the Department of Public Works. While it seemed a bit rushed in that the MTA was “asking” people for input on a new CEO, then replaced Ford so quickly, I don’t necessarily see this as a bad thing. That’s because, while Mr. Resikin isn’t a 100% “transit guy,” he has been around long enough to deal with other departments and City Hall, and that was something Ford never had a great handle on (beyond Doing What Gavin Said). So, for now, we should give him a chance to show us what he’d like to do.
I am hoping to do an interview with him sometime in the near future and if you’ve got questions, please note them in the comments.
One other thing I wanted to let readers know about is something I’ve started doing with our Mayoral candidates this year. I do not plan on endorsing anyone (at least not now), but I am trying to come up with a way to revive the Muni Rider Voter Guide.
To this end, I have extended an offer to the top candidates to come in and talk to them and their staff about Muni issues, as a nonpartisan, for an hour. So far several campaigns have taken me up on this offer, including City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Assessor Phil Ting, and former Supervisor Bevan Dufty. The idea is primarily to talk to them from my point of view as a rider and student of Muni issues, and have a conversation with them free of the “oneminute/twominute” tyranny of most debates. So far, the conversations have been pleasant and candidates have shown a real interest in not making Muni an “issue” they will talk about during the campaign, but something they’d like to see work better if they should become Mayor.
Finally, I wanted to let everyone know, if they haven’t heard already, that the Market Street Railway’s calendar celebrating Muni’s 100th birthday is available online! This is the first in what will likely be a series of events and whatnot celebrating Muni’s 100th. Hopefully there will be more coming along soon!