Four months after hiring Eric Williams as its chief operating officer, the San Joaquin Regional Transit District has promoted him again — this time to lead the countywide bus agency permanently.
RTD’s five-member Board of Directors unanimously appointed Williams chief executive officer Friday and approved a contract with a base salary of $321,657 a year.
The appointment gives RTD its first permanent CEO since directors fired Alex Clifford in February and comes as the agency prepares to rethink a transit plan adopted just 15 months ago.
Williams’ contract took effect Friday. He is also eligible for a performance payment of up to 7% at the board’s discretion and $18,000 a year in deferred compensation. The agreement includes a $500 monthly vehicle allowance and a $17,500 relocation allowance.
Williams thanked directors after the vote and said his priorities include completing outstanding audits and RTD’s financial recovery, protecting grant funding, filling critical vacancies and rebuilding relationships with cities and regional transportation agencies.
“For me, becoming CEO is not about the title; it is about service,” Williams said.
Williams returned to RTD as chief operating officer May 13 and became acting CEO less than two months later after interim CEO Bearnard Veasley resigned for personal family reasons. He previously spent three years at RTD as manager of grant programs before working as a grant and capital compliance adviser for Wayne County, Michigan.
His appointment follows months of leadership turnover at the transit district.
The board fired Clifford without cause in February following a week that included a partial disruption of bus service when some operators stopped driving to attend a meeting about his employment.
Chief Operating Officer Ciro Aguirre resigned around the same time. RTD then moved through several temporary leaders before Williams became acting CEO in July.
The agency has also faced criticism from former employees, riders and Stockton officials. A no-confidence petition signed by 53 people this summer accused RTD leadership of financial and management problems and prompted Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee to ask the California State Controller’s Office to review the allegations.
The Controller’s Office said in July that the request was under review. Several allegations in the petition had not been independently verified.
Questions over CEO selection
Several speakers raised concerns Friday about RTD’s leadership and the process used to select Williams.
Former RTD service development manager Nate Knodt, who signed the no-confidence petition, questioned Williams’ experience, compensation and how the district selected its permanent CEO.
Knodt said RTD had not publicly posted the position or conducted a national executive search.
“I don’t know who could have applied for this job,” Knodt said.
Tawana Milton also criticized the decision not to conduct a broader competitive recruitment.
“Given the importance of this role, RTD should be seeking the most qualified, experienced and independent leadership available to stabilize the agency, to restore public confidence and to support meaningful reform,” Milton said.
Milton raised additional concerns about RTD’s hiring practices, including an allegation involving a previous chief operating officer recruitment. She told directors she was not presenting the allegation as a confirmed fact.
Joan Sagarov pointed to the turnover that has followed months of changes at RTD.
“I’ve seen less turnover in fast food restaurants,” Sagarov said. “That’s not normal.”
Isaac Bristow, who served as RTD’s human resources director, told Stocktonia he was dismissed from the agency Thursday.
Friday’s board packet still identifies Bristow as RTD’s director of human resources, and he remained listed in that position on the agency’s website Friday.
During public comment, Bristow raised more specific allegations about personnel decisions under Williams’ leadership.
Bristow said several employees had reported concerns about a hostile work environment before going on protected leave and later being terminated. He questioned the reasons for the terminations and alleged Williams had bypassed him on personnel matters.
Bristow also said he had submitted information to the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury.
Stocktonia has not independently verified Bristow’s allegations.
Separately, Friday’s board packet reported 19 employee separations between April and June, including eight bus operators and 11 other employees.Directors did not respond to the commenters’ concerns before returning the meeting to the board.
RTD takes another look at its bus system
Williams takes over permanently as RTD prepares for another significant change: rewriting the long-term plan that guides where buses run and how the agency spends transportation money.
The current Short Range Transit Plan was adopted in June 2025 and was intended to guide RTD for years. Staff now says it no longer reflects the agency’s finances, ridership or direction under its current board and management.
RTD is reconsidering where buses run, how often they operate and whether traditional fixed-route service makes sense in lower-ridership areas.
John Andoh, a technical assistance consultant working with RTD, told directors Friday that the new plan would place greater emphasis on how many riders use individual services.
That could mean adding service to busier routes while reducing or changing service on routes with fewer passengers.
Andoh said some routes in North Stockton currently carry five passengers per hour or fewer.
One alternative under consideration is microtransit, which uses smaller vehicles that riders request for trips within a defined area instead of waiting for a bus traveling along a fixed route.
Andoh compared the concept to Uber or Lyft. Riders could request a vehicle to reach a destination or connect with one of RTD’s regular bus routes.
RTD could also explore partnerships with Uber, Lyft or similar companies to provide rides during evening hours when regular transit service is unavailable.
No routes were cut Friday, and directors did not approve any service changes.
The revised plan could also call for more passenger shelters, replacement buses, new transit technology, changes to bus operator schedules and smaller vehicles for some services.
RTD is also considering whether unused district property could eventually be redeveloped for housing near transit.
Andoh said the approach would differ from the plan adopted last year, which called for a much larger expansion of service.
He described the previous proposal as a “very radical expansion” and said the new plan would tie future growth more closely to ridership and available funding.
The shift follows months of tension over RTD’s plans to expand service outside Stockton.
Last year, city managers representing all eight incorporated cities in San Joaquin County questioned parts of RTD’s proposed expansion, raising concerns about overlapping service and asking the district for more information about ridership, costs and service levels.
Williams said Friday that he has been meeting with cities throughout the county to rebuild relationships and identify areas where RTD could work with local governments rather than duplicate existing transportation services.
Up to $42.8 million could be at stake
The rewrite is also tied to a potentially significant source of funding for RTD over the next four years.
The San Joaquin Council of Governments is preparing what it calls a “One and Done” funding process, which would allow transit agencies to identify their operating and capital needs for fiscal years 2027-28 through 2030-31 in a single round rather than seeking some of that money year by year.
About $114.6 million could be available across the region. That includes $47.3 million in remaining state Senate Bill 125 transportation funding, $38.3 million in Measure K money for bus transit and $29 million in Measure K funding for passenger rail.
The final amounts could change as SJCOG completes its accounting of the remaining state funds and Measure K revenues.
For RTD, the largest potential share comes from the SB 125 and Measure K bus transit money. Under the proposed rules, no transit agency could receive more than half of the available money in each category, meaning RTD could seek up to $42.8 million over four years for operations and capital projects, according to the district’s staff report.
The money could help pay for some of the changes RTD is now considering, including replacement buses, passenger shelters, transit technology and adjustments to service.
It could also help the district support day-to-day operations as it reshapes where and how it provides transportation.
But RTD first has to show SJCOG what it plans to do with the money. The district needs an updated Short Range Transit Plan to participate in the new funding process, and staff said keeping the plan adopted last year could leave RTD without funding through the program because it no longer reflects the agency’s current needs and direction.
The $42.8 million is a maximum, not a guaranteed award. RTD still has to identify its priorities, adopt the revised plan and submit a funding request before SJCOG determines how much money the agency will ultimately receive.
RTD expects to complete a draft of the new plan in late October or early November and bring it back to the board for consideration in November.
The district plans to submit the adopted plan to SJCOG in December and apply for funding in January, with any resulting service changes potentially beginning in 2027.