November 10, 2016

Dear Reader:
With the results from Tuesday’s election in, most all of us mourn the presidential outcome, coupled with Republicans now controlling both houses of Congress!

Back at home, I unfortunately did not win my re-election bid to the BART Board of Directors.  BART employee benefits, as well as environmental and social interests, were major topics of difference in my race.  While I focused my campaign on my record of fighting to hone in on the excess employee benefits at BART and placing the needs of the system and its riders above the politically-charged environmental and social desires that many of my colleagues have pursued; my main opponent was supported by those same colleagues and “had heavy support from labor leaders, progressive political action committees and philanthropic members of the Bay Area’s tech elite” (E. Baldassari, East Bay Time).

wBART
Apart from BART operational priorities, another effort of mine that will likely be terminated with this change in leadership is my effort to bring a BART extension to the northern communities of West Contra Costa County.  By getting a comprehensive study – the first of many steps of getting an extension realized – near complete, I fulfilled my 2012 commitment of putting this extension back on the table and moved the effort further in just the last two years than had occurred in the twenty years prior.  But now, again, the effort will sit dry and fade away until new leadership reignites it sometime later.

The Future of BART
While BART’s Measure RR has passed, the combination of an overtly progressive and financially unconscious BART Board coupled with a projected operating deficit at BART and a Republican-controlled federal government that is likely to further dry up money for transit reinvestment, BART’s financial challenges ahead are concerning to me.  There's a growing share of the Board's members interested in spending a lot of money on "wants" while the money available for "needs" will continue to dwindle. But then, again, this is no longer my problem to solve!

I wish my successor the best of luck in representing this very large district with very competing interests that proved quite difficult at times to simultaneously represent.

One personal benefit that comes from this result is that it relieves me of shackles that I have been in as a young transportation professional serving on a transit agency's board of directors.  Having been elected at age 25 right after graduating with my master’s degree, I simultaneously was trying to kick-start my career while also serving proactively as a BART Director.  As the San Francisco Examiner recently reported, my being on the BART Board of Directors has hindered my ability to start my professional career because no local transportation consulting firm was willing to hire me due to conflict of interest concerns – be them legal or perceptional.  I had to take to starting my own independent consulting practice, seeking opportunities outside of the immediate area, and bridging my financial gap by being a rideshare driver on evenings and weekends while I tried to get my first opportunities in independent consulting.

In total, I sacrificed my career by being a BART Director, but always held out hope that something would work out and allow this elected role to benefit me in that regard.

That being said, I now am no longer stuck with conflict of interest overhanging – or having to live in a small geography of the world, for that matter.  I'll now be able to more cleanly up my personal career and go wherever that may take me.  While one door closes, others will likely open.

It was nice serving you and both learning and contributing in this role the last four years.

Sincerely,


Zakhary Mallett, MCP
Incumbent, BART Director – District 7
Mallett For BART 2016
1564 Fitzgerald Drive, #114
Pinole, California 94564
510-815-9320