AC Transit board backs off censuring member for emails to staff

The AC Transit board of directors voted 6–1 on Wednesday to reject a censure of Director Sarah Syed in favor of committing to more leadership, governance and communication training for the board, and additional coaching for Syed. 

Syed cast the sole no vote, saying the board’s decision to single her out was unjustified.

Syed sent an email on May 23, 2023, to staff working on the Realign project, asking for a draft analysis of the plan, which assesses every route in light of a decline in ridership. Thirteen months later, on June 5, Syed once again sent an email to Realign staff, asking them to clarify points of a public presentation on proposed route changes. The two emails could be interpreted as staff directives and could influence reports on the project, an investigator hired by the agency determined. 

“The preponderance of evidence establishes that Director Syed engaged in direct communication with staff that could have been interpreted as direction of their work or as attempting to influence the content of their reports,” the investigator wrote in an Oct. 22 report.

AC Transit directors are not permitted to deal directly with agency staff unless they are asking for clarification on project details. Having most communication go through the general manager ensures programs remain objective and unbiased. 

Syed issued a statement Monday, saying there was nothing out of the ordinary in her inquiry about a presentation that was coming up at a public meeting. “Directors having adequate information is central to our ability to do our jobs,” she wrote. “It’s a reasonable courtesy, if not expected, that questions that we anticipate in advance should be provided to staff as a courtesy in advance.”

She said a censure would set “a scary precedent.”

Director Jean Walsh agreed, saying, “I really urge my colleagues to reject this unwarranted and politically motivated action.”

Over 25 members of the public spoke at the board meeting, disapproving of the censure vote. 

“The whole issue is a ridiculous waste of AC Transit time and money,” said Carter Lavin, co-founder of the East Bay Riders Transit Union. “This is an overblown response to an action that was not found to be bad.”

Some board members saw it differently. Board President Joel B. Young, who was censured by the board in 2013, said Syed’s actions created a  ”crisis of confidence.” 

Syed represents District 3, covering Alameda and parts of Oakland and San Leandro. She joined the board in 2022 after being a senior manager for Los Angeles Metro and a senior transportation planner with Palo Alto.

The plan to realign routes was presented to the public in September and approved by the board in October. 

The last time the board censured one of its members was when it reprimanded Young for failing to disclose his law firm’s involvement in legal disputes with other transit agencies while his position gave him access to confidential legal strategies.

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