The San Joaquin Regional Transit District has tapped a former deputy CEO to step in as its interim chief executive following the vacancies of three top RTD officials.
RTD’s leadership is missing a permanent CEO, COO and a CFO, according to an advertisement for the job.
On Friday, RTD former deputy CEO Kimberly Turner was selected for the role by a narrow 3-2 vote. The decision comes just two weeks after the transit district seemed to be plunged into turmoil that started with placing its former CEO Alex Clifford on leave and ultimately firing him four days later.
Turner was deputy CEO of RTD between September 2019 and December 2021, according to Linkdin.
RTD’S new interim will take over the reins from acting CEO Noel Mink, the transit district’s human resources director, who stepped into the chief executive role momentarily following Clifford’s ousting by the board.
The transit district’s Chief Operating Officer Ciro Aguirre resigned from the bus system the day after Clifford was placed on leave Feb. 9.
Since at least January, the bus system has also been seeking a new finance chief, according to an advertisement for the job. Why the CFO position is vacant was not made readily available.
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.
After Clifford’s firing and Aguirre’s resignation, RTD appeared to be without top leadership until Mink stepped in as acting Feb. 13.
Directors Aaron Edwards, Geneva Moorad and Graves, voted in favor of appointing Turner as interim CEO.
Directors Les J. Fong and Giovanetti voted against her appointment.
“I did not think that Turner would have been the right choice for this interim, and I voted accordingly,” Giovanetti said after the meeting. “The majority said that they wanted to pick her, but I would have picked one of the other candidates.”
The board’s decision to appoint Turner was made behind closed doors during the Friday meeting’s closed session, which is typical when governing bodies address personnel issues. No other RTD directors spoke during the meeting about Turner’s appointment during the meeting when they returned to open session.
Turner’s interim CEO contract is set for six months, with a monthly salary of $28,000 and a $500 automobile allowance.
The RTD board also shook up its leadership Friday, with Director Derek Graves being voted in as the new chair and Giovanetti as vice chair.
Directors Aaron Edwards, Geneva Moorad and Graves, voted in favor of Graves as chairperson and Giovanetti as vice chair.
Directors Les J. Fong and Giovanetti, voted against Graves.
Edwards, Moorad and Graves are all new board members that were sworn in earlier this year.
The board also voted Friday to delay addressing the multiple items on its agenda, which required action by acting CEO Mink, who was present during the meeting. However, Graves raised concerns about making significant, long-term agreements before an interim CEO was picked.
Turner is expected to start onboarding to RTD on Monday, according to an RTD spokesperson.