DART chooses top CEO pick despite disagreement among directors

By Lilly Kersh | Dallas Morning News (TNS)

Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s board of directors chose but did not name their top pick for the agency's next CEO Tuesday night after nearly three hours of discussion that revealed continued disagreement over the agency's governance and direction.

The board voted 9-6 for the candidate and authorized the negotiation of an employment agreement with the finalist, who DART officials plan to identify on July 21, once the employment process is complete. Debate among directors over the candidate, which took place largely in hours of closed session, included a failed attempt to delay the vote so members could better vet the candidates.

Out of more than 100 applicants, the board chose three finalists for the position who announced last Friday: Monica Téllez-Fowler, CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority; Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority in Florida; and Dee Leggett, former executive vice president and chief development officer at DART.

Board Chair Randall Bryant said to protect "the integrity of the process," the agency would not identify its top pick by name. But public discussion pointed to Ford as the leading candidate.

DART board representatives for Plano, Farmers Branch and Irving — among several cities that considered putting DART membership to a vote just months before — voted against the chosen candidate or said they needed more time to consider their vote.

Bryant said this CEO search was longer than the agency's last.

M. Nathan Barbera, who represents Plano and Farmers Branch on DART's board, said directors were rushed to make the decision.

"We were told that the person that we're being asked to vote for had taken his name out of consideration," Barbera said at the meeting. "We were told that four members of the board had decided to make him a candidate again, and ironically, on the exact same day, the candidate resigned from his current job."

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Ford has served as CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority for more than 13 years but Florida media outlets reported he announced plans to step down Friday, effective Jan. 8, 2027. Ford began his career at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York before leading San Francisco and Atlanta transit agencies.

"Time is needed to do due diligence," Barbera said. "Every single agency that the candidate has left from has left in a cloud of spending controversies, and I just simply do not want that to happen to DART."

DART board member Enrique MacGregor represents Cockrell Hill and Dallas and said those concerns "are preposterous."

"They're all questions that can easily be answered before or during the contract negotiation process with our candidate," he said. "I don't see any reason to delay."

Director Doug Hrbacek, who represents Irving and Carrollton on the board, said "red flag after red flag after red flag has been uncovered," and said leaders should have more time to research the candidate before voting.

Leggett was a clear favorite among transit advocates for the CEO position. The advocacy group Dallas Area Transit Alliance backed Leggett in a statement after a Saturday event in which the public could meet all three candidates and give feedback. The group cited Leggett's familiarity with the agency and connections with state and city officials in its endorsement, and several residents spoke in her favor at Tuesday night's meeting.

As the only candidate with experience working at DART, Leggett was named the agency’s executive vice president of growth and regional development in 2022. She now serves as director of business operations with Herzog Transit Services, a rail company that worked on the Silver Line project.

Bryant said the board considered the public's feedback from the Saturday "meet and greet" with the three finalists, an event he said was first of its kind for the agency. The candidates also met with city managers and mayors in DART's service area, he said.

"All three candidates did a great job of laying out how they would unify this agency and our member cities," Bryant said following Tuesday's meeting. "That was a great quality that all three of them had."

Téllez-Fowler joined the greater Columbus, Ohio, area transportation agency in 2023, according to COTA’s website, and formerly worked for an agency in Vancouver, Wash. She has roots in Texas, having served as chief financial officer of Trinity Metro in Fort Worth and earned degrees from Texas A&M University and Tarleton State University.

DART CEO Nadine Lee announced in March she was parting ways with the agency after five years. Her final months were spent negotiating with unsatisfied member cities, nearly half of which planned to put their membership to a vote over concerns DART’s service did not live up to the millions in sales tax paid to fund the agency each year.

Highland Park was the only member to withdraw. DART and its dozen remaining cities are left with a laundry list of proposed changes that seek to improve the return on investment for members and build a more equitably funded system of useful services across the region.

Given these demands, DART and city leaders emphasized the need for the agency’s next leader to build trust with member cities, consider their different service needs, unify the system and champion transparency.

Cities will have another opportunity to vote to leave DART in 2032, and the coming legislative sessions will prove critical to the agency’s success in meeting its goals for reform.

Interim CEO David Leininger will continue to oversee day-to-day operations until negotiations with the new leader are finalized.

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