former chair Davis

Who's driving this bus?!

For the third time in seven months, the ever-swerving Birmingham Jefferson County Rapid Transit Authority Board of Directors on Wednesday handed the wheel to someone new.

Darryl Cunningham, the chaplain for the Birmingham Fire Department and one of the two newest board members, was elected chair during a tumultuous and sometimes head-scratching board meeting, replacing attorney Ruby Davis, who had been chair since February, when she replaced Tameka Wren, who was elected last October.

Anyone else getting car (or bus) sick?

But hold onto your strap. Additionally, the board voted not to hire former BJCTA executive director Ann August as a consultant to interim director Christopher Ruffin one week after the proposal was approved by the Committee of the Whole.

Last week, the board voted 4-2-2 to sign August, who is currently interim executive director of the Central Midlands RTA in Columbia, SC, to a six-month term for $65,000.

On Wednesday, the vote failed 1-4-4.

Why the U-turn?

For starters, board member Patrick Sellers, who was clearly not in favor of the hire, was not present at the COW meeting last week. It was evident he has since been tinkering under the hood to tweak opinions.

Moreover, during the board discussion about the hiring, Sellers made a stunning insinuation: "Have we done our due diligence on Ann August?" he asked. "You want to bring in a person who did the same thing the previous executive director was accused of and suspended for...?"

Sellers was referring to executive director Barbara Murdock, who was suspended without pay in March "pending a full investigation into financial matters," including the alleged use of the BJCTA credit card for personal charges. The allegations are currently being investigated by the state attorney general's office.

As Sellers spoke, board attorney Deborah Walker interrupted: "What you're alleging has a confidential aspect to it as it relates to a person's reputation and character, regardless of who they are," she said. "I caution you [against speaking.]"

Nonetheless, Sellers continued: "Go back and look at the [BJCTA] training review from when she was here, they were in the toilet," he said. He also alluded to a farebox issue "which resulted in a loss of two hundred thousand dollars or more.

"This is the person you want to bring in for consulting and crisis management?"

Board member Martin Weinberg chimed in: "What proof do you have?"

"It's in black and white," Sellers responded. "It's worth taking look at the statement from 2013 and 2014."

"I must caution the board again," Walker urgently interjected. "The road you're traveling has an impact on the reputation of an individual, be it good or bad. When addressing a person's reputation or character, then you have an issue as to whether it should be discussed in confidence--in executive session."

"I don't think we needed that person to come to be a consultant for us when we already have particular vendors and expertise in place to do those functions," Sellers later said.

That vote followed the equally whiplashy move to oust Davis and replace her with a neophyte whose swearing-in--along with the other newest member, LeDon Jones--had been one of the first items on the day's agenda.

Sellers made the motion to amend the original agenda to add his resolution to elect new officers the top of the list of resolutions to be addressed by the addressed by the board.

After the motion was seconded (by board member Kevin Powe) and passed, the board first elected a new secretary-treasurer (Donald Harwell) and new vice chair (former chair and long-time board member Johnnye Lassiter).

The nomination of Cunningham as chair was surprising given his lack of service, but then again both of his predecessors were newbies, too--having joined the BJCTA board in October 2017.

"We are making a tragic, failing mistake," charged Weinberg. "[Cunningham] has not voted one time and we're making him chair. I'm sick of these games. I know other people are sick of them, too."

The surprising suddenness of the motion, tension and subsequent 6-1-2 vote--Weinberg voted no; Davis and Jones abstained--so shook up the place that, in his first "action," Cunningham called for a "break" lasting about 10 minutes while board members and staffers shuffled about, switching seats and nameplates in the boardroom.

And, at least a few of them, shaking their heads.

"It was an honor to serve as board chair," Davis later said. "My commitment is to transit and the citizens in which we serve, not a position or office. I'm looking forward to seeing the agency thrive."

Upon reconvening the board approved a few equipment acquisitions and stalled the hiring of August before going into executive session to discuss "potential litigation," said Walker, along with other matters.

Originally from Talladega, Cunningham, who is also a financial "coach," has lived in Birmingham since "1981 or 82," he said. He claims he did not know about the leadership change prior to the meeting and did not know he would be given the wheel.

His leadership plans?

"It's simple," he said. "We've got to do this right. We have a great group. I don't know what the disturbance was [that caused] the change, but we're going to make it work. We're gonna go with what we got."

Later, once the teetering bus finally screeched to a halt, Sellers said he was going to "choose the high road" when asked what instigated his motion to elect new officers.

"Now," he said, "the board is really going to get focused on the things that should be our focus--policy and better transit for the ridership and expanding the footprint within the region so we can be best the transit authority in the country."

Sellers said he isn't concerned about Cunningham's scant board experience: "One great thing about the mix of leadership is that we now have new board members--like previous board members who recently got removed. Also, we have seasoned board members who can wrap their arms around them and make sure of the priorities that in place."

Last week, Ruffin eloquently expressed why he was asking the board to hire August.

"We have projects on the table now, and we need to get up and walk," he said. "I can do the job, but no man is an island. I would like someone to oversee me, watch what I am doing--someone with professional pull."

On Wednesday, Sellers said Ruffin's pitch for August "may have been a request from previous board leadership rather than the interim executive director."

Regarding Ruffin's status, Sellers said: "Right now, he's the interim. We're going to support him right where he is--until we decide to do something different."

So keep your seat belts buckled, folks. It could still be a bumpy ride.