San Joaquin County’s bus system has no clear leader after the suspension of one top executive and the resignation of another this week.
The San Joaquin Regional Transit District’s chief operating officer resigned Tuesday, just one day after the bus system’s governing board placed its chief executive officer on paid leave.
The resignation represents a second blow to RTD amid a chaotic week that kicked off Monday morning with bus drivers reportedly abandoning their routes to show up at a special meeting where the board was expected to make a decision about their CEO Alex Clifford’s employment.
With some buses still temporarily halted as the board deliberated on Clifford’s fate, Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi accused Clifford in a statement posted on social media of organizing the bus drivers’ walkout, and ordered them to return to work.
The accusation marked an escalation of growing tension between Fugazi and Clifford, who told Stocktonia he believes his suspension arose from RTD’s plans to sue the San Joaquin Council of Governments, which Fugazi chairs.
RTD leaders had planned to sue the council for allegedly wrongly withholding about $62 million in transit funding the bus system says it’s owed. Meanwhile, Fugazi has argued RTD’s documents seeking the funds were insufficient. The board ultimately suspended Clifford Monday.
Chief Operating Officer Ciro Aguirre then resigned from the bus system effective Tuesday, RTD spokesman Maximilian Cao confirmed.
As of Wednesday, it’s unclear who’s in charge of the bus system, which serves nearly 2.6 million people yearly across more than 1,400 square miles. And since at least January, it’s been missing a chief financial officer, according to an advertisement for the job.
Another special board meeting is set for Friday to discuss the possible discipline or firing of an unnamed employee, and negotiations with a potential interim CEO, board documents show.
When asked Tuesday if RTD in effect had no CEO, Cao declined to comment.
How did we get here?
Aguirre led RTD’s operations for almost four years and had 40 years of experience in transit, according to the transit district’s website. Stocktonia’s multiple attempts to contact Aguirre Tuesday and Wednesday were unsuccessful.
The operations chief’s exit comes one day after RTD’s five-person board of directors voted to place Clifford on paid leave in closed session of a special meeting held Monday morning.
Clifford, who’s worked in the transit industry for 30 years, had served as the transit system’s CEO since January 2022, RTD’s website says.
News of possible board action regarding Clifford’s employment at the 10 a.m. special meeting resulted in some bus drivers stopping their buses at Stockton’s Downtown Transit Center to attend the deliberations, RTD officials said, disrupting some local bus routes for several hours.
Fugazi accused Clifford in a statement Monday afternoon of pulling drivers off routes as leverage amid the board’s discussion of his employment. The mayor “ordered the immediate restoration of all public transportation services.”
Clifford told Stocktonia that, while he hated the service disruption and hadn’t asked employees to attend the special meeting, he appreciated their support.
Crystal McGee Lee — president and business agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 256, which represents some RTD workers — said the union hadn’t planned the walkout.
By about 2 p.m. Monday, bus drivers were returning to work, an RTD spokesman said.
The vote to put Clifford on leave broke down 3-2, with directors Derek Graves Jr., Geneva Moorad and Aaron Edwards voting in favor of it, and Giovanetti and Director Les Fong voting against, an RTD lawyer announced at the special meeting following the board’s closed session.
All three directors who voted to put Clifford on leave were appointed last month.
Stockton City Council unanimously appointed Graves to RTD’s board Jan. 13. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors appointed Edwards to the board in a 4-1 vote Jan. 27.
The same day, the council and board appointed Moorad during a joint meeting, video of the session shows. Some RTD board members are chosen jointly by the council and supervisors, while each governing body also is allowed to independently appoint other members.
Fugazi nominated Moorad, and Supervisors Mario Gardea, Robert Rickman and Sonny Dhaliwal, as well as Councilmembers Michele Padilla, Mariela Ponce, Brando Villapudua and Fugazi, voted in favor of appointing her.
Supervisors Paul Canepa and Steve Ding and Councilmember Mario Enriquez voted against Moorad’s appointment.
Edwards said the board’s vote to suspend Clifford reflected a “loss of confidence in executive leadership.” The other board members didn’t return Stocktonia’s calls for comment.
Clifford said he believes the decision arose from RTD’s preparations to sue the San Joaquin Council of Governments, whose board Fugazi chairs, over $62 million in transit funding RTD officials believe the council has wrongly withheld.
Regarding Aguirre’s resignation Tuesday, Edwards said in a written statement, “I wish Mr. Aguirre the best in his future endeavors and respectfully thank him for his time at RTD.”
Fong, Graves and Moorad didn’t return calls for comment Tuesday.
Who’s at the wheel?
With RTD’s CEO on the sidelines and its operations chief’s sudden exit, it’s not clear who was in charge of the bus system as of Wednesday.
The board has not yet appointed an interim leader. Board Chair Gary Giovanetti told Stocktonia the question of leadership was “up in the air.”
Aguirre’s role also isn’t the only vacancy in RTD’s top ranks. Since at least January, the bus system has been seeking a new finance chief, according to an advertisement for the job.
In addition to a CEO, and operations and finance chiefs, RTD’s leadership consists of 16 officials, according to its website. Overall, the system has about 340 employees, the website says.
The board will have a chance to take further action regarding the CEO role at another special meeting Friday, officials said.
If the board fires Clifford, McGee Lee said she hopes RTD’s next leader listens to its rank-and-file workers.
“That person needs to come in with an open mind, open-listening ears, and if things are working in a certain area, let them continue to work,” she said.
The union president believes that person would face an uphill battle, she said.
“They’re walking into a powder keg,” McGee Lee said. “My membership is already wounded. They’re going to be in protection mode. If you come in with a bully pulpit, you’re already in trouble.”
Stocktonia reporter Vince Medina and Executive Editor Scott Linesburgh contributed to this report.
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