Four finalists aiming for CEO's post at VIA

VIA Metropolitan Transit trustees will interview four candidates who could possibly become the agency's next president and CEO.

The board discussed the finalists during an executive session at its monthly meeting Tuesday night. The San Antonio Express-News obtained a list of the current finalists after filing an open records request.

It's unclear when the VIA board will ultimately make its choice.

One candidate is Jeffrey Arndt, who has been interim CEO since late last year, after the departure of Keith Parker. Parker, a rising star on the national public transit stage, was VIA's chief from 2009 until December, when he left to head up Atlanta's much-larger public transit agency.

About 30 people applied for the position; the board slashed that number to five at a special meeting this month. The entire meeting was an executive session and not open to the public.

Arndt spent nearly three decades working with Houston METRO, where he helped launch that city's light-rail system. He was senior vice president of operations and chief operating officer from 1999 until 2005. Parker hired Arndt as VIA's deputy CEO in February 2012, after Arndt spent seven years in the private sector.

There were five finalists but one withdrew. The remaining ones, in addition to Arndt, are:

Theresa “Terry” Garcia Crews, general manager and CEO of Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority in Cincinnati. Previously, Garcia Crews was general manager and president of StarTran Inc., which oversaw union workers for Austin's Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. She was general manager and CEO of the public transit authority in Lexington, Ky., from 2004 to 2008 and before that was assistant general manager for the public transit agency in Tucson, Ariz. Before, that Garcia Crews had a career in marketing.

David C. Hill, deputy director of transit management at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, where he oversees five bus divisions and two rail divisions. He was previously executive director and CEO of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority in Alabama. Before that, Hill spent 19 years working with Dallas Area Rapid Transit, where he began as a bus operator and eventually became manager of paratransit planning and scheduling.

Dave J. Kubicek, who in March stepped down as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's deputy general manager of operations. His résumé lists him as still working with WMATA, where Kubicek oversaw the second-busiest subway system in the country, according to the Washington Post. He was deputy executive officer of rail fleet services for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority from 2002 to 2007. He previously worked for the Dallas transit authority, DART, starting as a technician in 1987 and becoming senior manager of rail fleet services in 2002.

Whoever becomes VIA's next president will face a rapidly changing agency: VIA is in the middle of planning a downtown streetcar system, its first rail project ever. The system is expected to cost $190 million to $200 million, a price tag that has raised significant concerns, not only because of the cost but because of potential financial implications for VIA's bus system. VIA collects less sales tax than the transit agencies in Austin, Dallas or Houston.

Also Tuesday night, VIA trustees saw presentations on the agency's new mobile phone app, which rolls out Monday, a five-year bus shelter replacement program, a proposal to help fund transit service in New Braunfels and an update on the ongoing streetcar project.

VIA will kick off a series of public meetings about the streetcar project starting next month. The first is at 3 p.m. Monday at the VIA center, 1021 San Pedro.

vdavila@express-news.net