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The crowd listens as DART president and CEO candidate Nathaniel Ford Sr. speaks during a meet and greet, on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at Dallas Area Rapid Transit headquarters in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Dallas Area Rapid Transit\u2019s<\/a> board of directors chose but did not name their top pick for the agency\u2019s next CEO<\/a> Tuesday night after nearly three hours of discussion that revealed continued disagreement over the agency\u2019s governance and direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n The board voted 9-6 for the candidate and authorized the negotiation of an employment agreement with the finalist, who DART officials plan to identify on July 21, once the employment process is complete. Debate among directors over the candidate, which took place largely in hours of closed session, included a failed attempt to delay the vote so members could better vet the candidates.<\/p>\n DART president and CEO candidate Nathaniel Ford Sr. speaks during a meet and greet, on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at Dallas Area Rapid Transit headquarters in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Out of more than 100 applicants, the board chose three finalists for the position who were announced last Friday: Monica\u00a0T\u00e9llez-Fowler, CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority; Nathaniel\u00a0Ford Sr., CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority in Florida; and Dee Leggett, former executive vice president and chief development officer at DART.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Board Chair Randall Bryant said to protect \u201cthe integrity of the process,\u201d the agency would not identify its top pick by name. But public discussion pointed to Ford as the leading candidate.\u00a0<\/p>\n DART board representatives for Plano, Farmers Branch and Irving\u00a0\u2014 among several cities that considered putting DART membership to a vote just months before\u00a0\u2014 voted against the chosen candidate or said they needed more time to consider their vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n DART president and CEO candidate Monica T\u00e9llez-Fowler\u00a0speaks to the public during a meet and greet, on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at Dallas Area Rapid Transit headquarters in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Bryant said this CEO search was longer than the agency\u2019s last.\u00a0<\/p>\n M. Nathan Barbera, who represents Plano and Farmers Branch on DART\u2019s board, said directors were rushed to make the decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe were told that the person that we\u2019re being asked to vote for had taken his name out of consideration,\u201d Barbera said at the meeting. \u201cWe were told that four members of the board had decided to make him a candidate again, and ironically, on the exact same day, the candidate resigned from his current job.\u201d<\/p>\n Ford has served as CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority for more than 13 years but Florida media outlets reported he announced plans to step down Friday, effective Jan. 8, 2027. Ford began his career at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York before leading San Francisco and Atlanta transit agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cTime is needed to do due diligence,\u201d Barbera said. \u201cEvery single agency that the candidate has left from has left in a cloud of spending controversies, and I just simply do not want that to happen to DART.”<\/p>\n DART President and CEO candidate Dee Leggett interacts with crowd during a meet and greet, on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at Dallas Area Rapid Transit headquarters in Dallas.<\/p>\n Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n DART board member Enrique MacGregor represents Cockrell Hill and Dallas and said those concerns \u201care preposterous.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re all questions that can easily be answered before or during the contract negotiation process with our candidate,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t see any reason to delay.\u201d<\/p>\n Director Doug Hrbacek, who represents Irving and Carrollton on the board, said \u201cred flag after red flag after red flag has been uncovered,\u201d and said leaders should have more time to research the candidate before voting.<\/p>\n Leggett was a clear favorite among transit advocates for the CEO position. The advocacy group Dallas Area Transit Alliance backed Leggett in a statement after a Saturday event in which the public could meet all three candidates and give feedback. The group cited Leggett\u2019s familiarity with the agency and connections with state and city officials in its endorsement, and several residents spoke in her favor at Tuesday night\u2019s meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Who will be DART\u2019s next CEO? As the search begins, leaders emphasize political needs<\/a><\/p>\n Leggett, the only candidate with experience working at DART, was named the agency\u2019s executive vice president of growth and regional development in 2022. She now serves as director of business operations with\u00a0Herzog Transit Services, a rail company that worked on the Silver Line project.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Bryant said the board considered the public\u2019s feedback from the Saturday \u201cmeet and greet\u201d with the three finalists, an event he said was first of its kind for the agency. The candidates also met with city managers and mayors in DART\u2019s service area, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll three candidates did a great job of laying out how they would unify this agency and our member cities,\u201d Bryant said following Tuesday\u2019s meeting. \u201cThat was a great quality that all three of them had.\u201d<\/p>\n T\u00e9llez-Fowler joined the greater Columbus, Ohio, area transportation agency in 2023, according to COTA\u2019s website, and formerly worked for an agency in Vancouver, Wash. She has roots in Texas, having served as chief financial officer of Trinity Metro in Fort Worth and earned degrees from Texas A&M University and Tarleton State University.<\/p>\n DART CEO Nadine Lee<\/a> announced in March she was parting ways with the agency after five years. Her final months were spent negotiating with unsatisfied member cities, nearly half of which planned to put their membership to a vote over concerns DART\u2019s service did not live up to the millions in sales tax paid to fund the agency each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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