BART Appoints Interim General Manager

The BART board of directors voted 6-3 Thursday to appoint a former general counsel who retired in July 2007 to be the agency’s interim general manager.

Sherwood Wakeman will begin his temporary job on April 23, the day after BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger is scheduled to leave.

Wakeman started BART in 1973 as an attorney shortly after train service began. In May 1987, he became general counsel. Wakeman has served twice as interim general manager during his tenure at BART.

“Mr. Wakeman has complete integrity and a love for BART and will capably guide the agency until a permanent general manager is appointed,” said BART Board President Bob Franklin.

The board approved a salary of $160 an hour for Wakeman.

Dugger submitted her resignation Tuesday after the BART board approved a $958,000 settlement agreement with her.

BART officials said $600,000 of that payment was to prevent litigation against the transit agency.

In February, the BART board voted 5-4 in closed session to fire Dugger. Board members immediately rescinded their decision after legal counsel Matthew Burrows said their action was illegal because their meeting agenda only listed a performance appraisal for Dugger, not a possible vote to fire her.

Dugger has been general manager since 2007.

At Thursday's meeting, several directors were critical of the way the episode was handled.

"I completely disagree with what the board has done and I've been very, very angry at the board's action in February," said director Gail Murray.

BART directors have not publicly stated why they wanted to fire Dugger.

They estimated it will take two to five months to find a permanent replacement.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.