DART’s apparent CEO pick brings decades of experience — and scrutiny at past agencies

Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s apparent — but unofficial — choice for its vacant CEO position brings nearly 40 years of experience in public transportation. He also brings questions over spending and travel at past agencies he’s led.

DART’s divided board of directors voted 9-6 Tuesday in favor of “Candidate A,” whose name officials plan to announce July 21 after they’ve negotiated an employment agreement. 

Public discussion pointed to Nathaniel Ford Sr. as the board’s top choice. The CEO of Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the most tenured candidate of three finalists and has held the CEO post at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.

Ford’s decades-long track record includes allegations of using public money for personal use or excessive travel.

Related: DART chooses top CEO pick despite disagreement among directors

He did not respond to requests for comment. Florida media outlets reported earlier this month that Ford said he would step down from JTA after 13 years, effective in January.

His apparent selection has divided DART board members over whether his work history outweighs the experience he would bring to an agency already struggling with disagreements over its spending, leadership and future.

Some board members who voted against the candidate said they wanted more time to vet his history. Others had concerns about how and when his name came under consideration.

Director M. Nathan Barbera, who represents Plano and Farmers Branch, said, without naming Ford, that they’d been told he had removed himself from consideration earlier in the search process. But at the will of a handful of board members leading up to the final interviews, Ford came back into the mix, he said. 

“Red flag after red flag after red flag has been uncovered,” board member Doug Hrbacek, who represents Irving and Carrollton, said of the finalist. “As a board member, we should be able to have the appropriate amount of time to do our research.”

Ford’s supporters pointed to his extensive experience leading major transit agencies and said questions about his past could be addressed during contract negotiations.

Jacksonville station WJAX-TV reported Ford was one of Jacksonville’s highest-paid employees, earning nearly half a million dollars a year as base pay and spending additional tens of thousands of dollars on travel, including international trips, mostly for conferences or transit-related events.

Ford defended his travel and told the station he was committed to supporting the citizens of Jacksonville.

“I’m a high-energy individual,” he told the station of his travel history. “I’m sitting at the table with those decision makers and those influencers that are making policy decisions around transportation.”

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Ford has a history of high earnings. A 2007 article in SFGate reported Ford was the highest-paid city employee in San Francisco as chief of the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency.

According to 2006 reporting in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on audits of his spending, Ford and his secretaries charged nearly $150,000 over his five years at MARTA to agency credit cards that its board did not know about.

The spending came amid some of MARTA’s worst deficits in its history, according to the Chronicle, and included primarily business-related expenses — meals and drinks at upscale restaurants, trips to industry conventions — that MARTA’s board chair said should have been curtailed. 

The audit also found personal spending at a golf pro shop, clothing store and dentist’s office, the Chronicle’s reporting states. It said Ford reimbursed the authority thousands of dollars, but state and local officials still had questions about some charges and documentation. 

Barbera, the DART board member, said the CEO candidate has left transit agencies “in a cloud of spending controversies.”

“I simply do not want that to happen to DART,” he said. 

Director Enrique MacGregor said, without naming the candidate, that concerns over Ford’s past are “preposterous.” 

“They’re all questions that can easily be answered during the contract negotiation process,” he said. “I don’t see any reason to delay, and I don’t see any reason why the candidate should not be included.”

Mayors and city managers were invited to a virtual meeting with the finalists before the board’s vote. Some were pleased with Ford’s experience and are not dissuaded by his past. 

Addison Mayor Bruce Arfsten noted Ford’s extensive and diverse experience at transportation agencies across the country, but said he was concerned directors were not more aligned. 

“Hopefully the board vetted him enough to have an explanation that they feel comfortable with,” Arfsten said of Ford’s history. “I’m always interested to hear the full story because there’s always folks that are willing to throw shade.”

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Plano City Manager Mark Israelson said he was pleased the hiring process included city officials. He said he expects the board to maintain a high standard for ethics in the selection process. 

“The board probably is going to have to answer some questions,” Israelson said. “Transparency is very important for the sake of the agency as well as the sake of the relationships in the agency.”

Farmers Branch Mayor Terry Lynne said Ford has “the most impressive resume” of the finalists and had not been “outright accused of any impropriety of funds.”

“Just because people are asking questions … doesn’t necessarily mean it was improperly done,” he said. 

DART’s own board of directors, Lynne said, have raised questions about travel and spending. 

KERA News reported in 2024 that a board member spent more than $50,000 of agency funds for trips and another spent DART money on travel from a second home in Denver to attend meetings in Dallas.

DART officials have also faced scrutiny for high salaries and bonuses. Former DART CEO Nadine Lee’s base pay was more than $400,000 in 2025, according to records obtained by The Dallas Morning News. 

Arfsten, of Addison, hopes the agency can come together no matter who is at the helm. 

“This is a really important time for DART, for the region,” Arfsten said. “If there’s infighting that goes on after the new person comes on board, then we didn’t really accomplish much of anything.”

DART’s board plans to name the CEO Tuesday after directors finalize the CEO’s employment agreement.