DART President and CEO candidate Nathaniel P. Ford Sr, speaks during a meet and greet, on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at Dallas Area Rapid Transit headquarters in Dallas.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Incoming Dallas Area Rapid Transit CEO Nathaniel Ford Sr. is among those whose communications are being sought by Florida investigators examining contracts and spending at the financially troubled Jacksonville Transportation Authority, which he previously led.
The Florida attorney general’s office subpoenaed agency records, including communications like emails and texts involving Ford, his spouse and the owner of a consulting firm.
The subpoena seeks records from the agency from 2023 to 2025, including tuition reimbursement records, payments for massages and murals, card statements and ridership reports for the authority’s controversial autonomous vehicle program.
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JTA officials confirmed on Sept. 29 they had received the subpoena from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, nonprofit Florida news outlet Jacksonville Today reported.
Related: Who is Nathaniel Ford Sr., DART’s next CEO? What to know about the longtime transit executive
The investigation comes as the Jacksonville public transit agency faces a nearly $40 million budget shortfall and layoffs affecting roughly 200 employees, Florida news outlets reported. The authority said it is “prepared to fully cooperate” with investigators in a statement reported by local media.
Ford is scheduled to start as DART’s president and CEO on Oct. 26 after leading the JTA for 13 years.
A DART spokesperson said Ford and DART Board Chair Randall Bryant did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday night.
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Bryant said earlier this year his agency had secured “one of the most talented, sought-out transit executives” in hiring Ford, pointing to his decades of experience serving as CEO of transportation agencies in Atlanta, San Francisco and Jacksonville.
Ford’s hire was controversial among DART’s board, who voted 9-6 in his favor this summer. Some touted his decades of experience leading transit agencies and others cautioned against his history.
Related: DART names Florida transit executive Nathaniel Ford CEO after divided board vote
The Dallas Morning News previously reported that Ford’s tenure in Jacksonville, Florida, has raised questions about travel expenses and financial oversight.
Ford’s employment agreement with DART includes an initial three-year term with a base salary of $515,000 and $80,000 for relocation. Several board members voted against the contract. Plano DART board member Anthony Ricciardelli rejected it, saying in July it paid “higher than the highest-paid executive at any of the 12 member cities.”
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Ford also faced scrutiny during his earlier tenure at Atlanta’s transit agency.
According to 2006 reporting in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on audits of his spending, Ford and his secretaries charged nearly $150,000 over his five years at MARTA to agency credit cards that its board did not know about.
The Florida Attorney General has also subpoenaed Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan for records from a 2025 meeting with a former JTA board member who says she raised alarms about the agency’s finances, Jacksonville television station WJXT-TV reported Tuesday.
Related: DART’s apparent CEO pick brings decades of experience — and scrutiny at past agencies
Deegan, who vouched for Ford to DART board members and in a July interview with The News, said she would happily cooperate with the investigation, according to the station.
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In July, she called Ford “a visionary” in an interview with The News and said she was disappointed he is leaving Florida but not surprised DART hired him.
“Many of the projects we’ve been able to fund here have been because of the relationships he’s established and the vision that he’s had,” she said.
A response from the JTA to the subpoena is due later this month.