This afternoon, there was a political coup of sorts over at Southern California Transit Advocates when Executive Secretary Dana Gabbard, flying in the face of parliamentary rulings, called a special meeting and took over the organization.
In the process, President Lionel Jones, Recording Secretary Jerard Wright, Treasurer Hank Fung, and myself (Public & Legislative Affairs Director) were placed in a situation where we had no choice but to resign.
For the past couple of years, I have been writing a monthly column in the So.CA.TA newsletter reporting on the meetings of the Metro (MTA) Board of Directors, with commentary on same. Knowing that there are many within the local public transportation community who have come to rely on that column for information, I will continue to write the column but it will appear online here now.
The actions by Mr. Gabbard and his supporters saddens me, as they come at a point where So.CA.TA had been having difficulty attracting members who would be willing to lead. It is my considered opinion that, going forward, the organization will continue to have difficulty holding itself together. Sadly, my own loyalty to the organization was called into question during the December 4 meeting, making it impossible for me to prevent what I believe will be the ultimate demise of this long-time advocacy organization.
I'll post my first Board Report here within a couple of days of the December 9 meeting.
