Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the breakdown of the transit district board’s vote to fire its former CEO. The error has been corrected.
The temporary CEO of San Joaquin County’s bus system has resigned, a transit official confirmed Thursday.
Kimberly Turner was hired as the San Joaquin Regional Transit District’s interim leader on February 20, one week after the bus system’s board of directors fired former CEO Alex Clifford.
Turner has since resigned, Chief Safety Officer Curtis Moses confirmed Thursday afternoon.
Moses wasn’t sure when Turner’s last day of employment was, he said, adding that RTD won’t share the reasons for her departure. More information about Turner’s resignation will be shared “through appropriate channels,” Moses said.
With Turner’s departure, the bus system serving nearly 2.6 million people yearly is once again missing at least two top executives.
In addition to a CEO, RTD has had no operations chief since former COO Ciro Aguirre resigned in early February, in reaction to the board placing Clifford on leave before voting to fire him without cause.
Director Aaron Edwards, one of three board members who voted in support of firing Clifford, said the decision was intended to “hold (Clifford) accountable” after some bus drivers stopped work to show up to a Feb. 9 board meeting where a discussion of his employment was scheduled.
Stockton’s mayor, Christina Fugazi, had issued a statement accusing Clifford of pulling drivers off their routes as leverage before the board’s decision.
At the Feb. 9 meeting, the board placed Clifford on leave due to “a loss of confidence in executive leadership,” Edwards said at the time.
The CEO claimed he never asked drivers to abandon their routes, and said the board fired him over RTD’s plan to sue the San Joaquin Council of Governments over $62 million in funding RTD believes the council wrongly denied the bus system. Fugazi chairs the 13-member Council of Governments.
On Feb. 13, the board ultimately voted 4-1 to fire Clifford. Three of the four board members who voted “yes” on his dismissal were appointed by the Stockton City Council and county board of supervisors in January.
They include Edwards, Derek Graves Jr. and Geneva Moorad. Director Gary Giovanetti also voted in favor of firing Clifford, meeting minutes show, and Director Les Fong voted against it. Giovanetti and Fong later resigned.
Turner sent no response to requests for comment.
A 40-year veteran of the transportation sector, according to her bio on RTD’s website, Turner has also worked for Caltrans, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration and the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.
It’s unclear when the bus system’s board will hire a new CEO. The next board meeting is scheduled for April 17. No agenda for the meeting has been released yet.