|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Safety and fiscal management are top priorities for incumbent Melissa Hernandez and challenger Joe Grcar in the race for BART Board of Directors in District 5.
But differing methodologies separate the hopefuls aiming to represent a large portion of the Tri-Valley, including BART stations at Dublin-Pleasanton, West Dublin-Pleasanton, Castro Valley and Hayward.
Whereas Hernandez supports diversifying revenue sources, Grcar supports something akin to furloughing BART employees when revenue is down and transferring fares to employers, according to their campaign websites.
However they agree police and mental health resources are needed to keep BART riders safe.
Grcar is a retired laboratory scientist and said his experience in research and analysis will enable him to problem-solve issues with the BART system and create its sustainable future, according to his website. He is also running for office in the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District, the Castro Valley Sanitary District and the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District in the Nov. 5 election.
As a BART director, he wants to improve transit agency’s safety and fiscal management. He also wants to shift fares from commuters to employers.
“Security and cleanliness are critical to making BART a viable travel option,” he wrote on his website.
To make BART safer, he supports increasing the presence of police and crisis intervention specialists on trains. He also supports installing new fare gates at all stations “to deter fare evasion — because it is also the simplest way to deter crime”, he wrote on his website.
On the cost-reduction side of his plan, he wrote, “School districts and automobile manufacturers automatically furlough workers when revenues decline. The BART system should modify its labor contracts to include similar provisions.” (The steps of furloughing in schools and auto industry often depend on their union contracts.)
Grcar is also in favor of creating an efficiency committee to develop cost-containment and revenue plans, according to his website.
For long-distance commutes, Grcar wants employers to foot the bill. Potentially, commuters would ride for free or at a low cost and the fare would be subsidized by their employer.
Grcar said his billing plan would bring in a lot of revenue, as commuters travel via the future Valley Link train onto the BART system.
“Without my plan, these commuters from San Joaquin County will be subsidized by the taxpayers of Alameda County through the sales tax and other taxes that Alameda pays to keep BART operating,” he told the Weekly.
Current District 5 Director Hernandez was appointed to the BART board to fill the remainder of the term of former director John McPartland in May. She vacated her seat as Dublin mayor to take the BART position.
She also serves as the chair of the Tri-Valley/San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority, which plans Valley Link. Previously, she served as chair of the Livermore-Amador Valley Transit Authority, a member of the Alameda County Transportation Commission and a member of the Federal and Military Communities Committee.
As a candidate, Hernandez aims for a safe, clean, on-time and affordable service, according to her campaign website.
“My vision is to keep our public transportation working for everyone – and to keep BART reliable, affordable, and safe for everyone who rides,” Hernandez wrote on her website. “I am putting my years of transit experience to work to make this a reality for all of us.”
To make BART safer, she supports “well deployed uniformed personnel” including transit ambassadors, whose presence is meant to deter crime, she wrote on her website. “We also need to be smarter about deploying mental health resources.”
She said she intends to keep fares affordable through fiscal management, accountability and by expanding the variety of BART’s revenue sources.
“As an Alameda County Transportation Commissioner I have worked to ensure that tax funds are spent as promised to voters,” she wrote on her website. “I will continue to be a fiscal watchdog in making decisions on the BART budget.”
Hernandez, who did not respond to the Weekly’s request for comment, also aims to modernize the trains and make them more energy efficient, according to her website.
As for other seats on the BART Board of Directors, Districts 1, 3, 7 and 9 are also up for grabs this November. The District 1 seat, which includes the rest of the San Ramon Valley, will be filled by Pleasant Hill Mayor Matt Rinn, who was the only candidate to come forward with incumbent Director Debora Allen not seeking reelection.
