Posted May 20, 2009, 1:22 AM
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Loving SA 365 days a year
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 3,891
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Quote:
VIA Metropolitan Transit to name new president
Envisioning a new era in mass transportation, VIA Metropolitan Transit's board of trustees on Wednesday was expected to name as its new president a man who was instrumental in making light rail work in Charlotte, N.C.
The trustees planned to name Keith Parker, the chief executive of the Charlotte Area Transit System, as VIA's new president and CEO, according to three sources familiar with the selection process. The sources said they could not speak on the record because the board hadn't yet approved Parker's contract. The authority scheduled a press conference for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, after the board meets.
Board Chairman Henry Muñoz said the trustees had narrowed the search to two finalists and planned to seal the deal Wednesday morning. He said he was confident the new president would be “somebody who would lead San Antonio into the 21st century with regard to expanding the types of mass transit that are available to the citizens of San Antonio and Bexar County.”
Muñoz joined the VIA board Jan. 1 — the same day VIA President John Milam retired after 33 years at the authority — and began looking for a new CEO who would be “one of the great multi-modal thinkers in this country.”
Muñoz said the goal all along was to come up with a system that would attract riders who have never before thought about using public transportation. He said he envisions a transit system that uses various modes of transporation — bus rapid transit, light rail and streetcar systems — to connect community assets and cultural facilities with where people live.
In Charlotte, where the bus system has expanded even while rail service has come online, Parker's done just that.
“I've had conversations with him in the past about what attracted him to transit, and what he's told me is that he sees transit as a way of connecting communities,” said Charlotte City Councilman Anthony Foxx. “I don't think he has a bent one way or another with particular types of transit."
Others are equally effusive.
“San Antonio would be very fortunate to have his talents,” said Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory. “He had broad support with the mayor and council throughout the community.... He's done an outstanding job and will bring a wealth of experience — both broad and specific — to your city if he ends up there.”
McCrory said Parker came to Charlotte “during a period when we were first implementing the light-rail system and growing the bus system.”
He was promoted to assistant city manager and then, just over a year ago, to chief executive of the Charlotte transit system.
Charlotte officials said light rail was a long shot there in the beginning, and that many expected it to fail.
“He's remarkable,” Foxx said. “What I would say about Keith is he understands how to speak straight about issues. And as a governmental leader, that's what you want. You don't want someone sugarcoating things. You want facts."
Mayor Jeff Tarte of Cornelius, N.C., a northern suburb of Charlotte slated to get the next rail line, said Parker is steeped in all aspects of mass transit — from dealing with the politics surrounding it to the technical details of traffic mitigation and rail-line design. Tarte says he's also just a good guy.
“He's the real deal, and I would tell you he's the consummate professional,” he said. “And beyond that, if you were dying of cancer, he's the guy you'd want your wife to marry.”
Under terms of the five-year contract, Parker, who could not be reached for comment, is slated to earn $250,000 his first year. His salary will increase by $10,000 each year for following two years and by $15,000 the final two years, bringing his salary in the final year to $300,000, sources said. Parker makes roughly $200,000 in his current position, according to the Charlotte Observer.
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