We asked the two candidates for BART Director District 5: What do you view as the biggest challenge (or challenges) facing BART now, and how will you work to address it (them) in the next four years? How does BART impact Castro Valley, and how will you promote collaboration to support a working partnership between BART and Castro Valley?

I have been a lifelong public servant and community activist with a distinguished career of success; going from Private to Colonel and combat veteran in the Army, from Firefighter to Battalion Officer in the Oakland Fire Department and from Safety Specialist to the Board of Directors in BART. I succeed by solving problems and achieving goals.

As BART Director, I have expanded the Earthquake Retrofit Program, reformed the Police Department, opened the West Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station and implemented an Earthquake Early Warning System to stop trains before the shaking starts (thereby preventing derailments and injuries to passengers). As a respected expert and former California Seismic Safety Commissioner, I have presented to the White House and testified to both Congressional and California State Senate Committees on Earthquake Early Warning and Disaster Preparedness.

The biggest challenges facing BART now and for the next 4 years are: the aging (44-year-old) BART infrastructure, overcrowded trains (daily riders: 356,000 in 2008, 443,000 now and predicted 500,000 in 2018), sustaining and improving safety in these deteriorating conditions and BART to Livermore. The aging infrastructure MUST be addressed immediately. The solution: passage of Proposition RR which will provide $3.5B. The consequence of its failure: reduced reliability (driving commuters to cars; increasing already strained highways), increased safety hazards and it will force BART into the “Band-Aid on the Scab” repair mode-never fixing the bigger problems; “VOTE YES ON MEASURE RR”. Overcrowded trains: There are two solutions in process: the first-ten new fleet cars be in service this year; that will be followed with 250 more cars over the next 2-3 years and it will climb to 750-1000 new cars. Additionally, a new “soon to be installed” train control system will allow trains to run more frequently. Combining these two factors will allow a 25-35% increase in ridership capacity and, at the same time, relieve the safety risks from mechanical failures and overcrowded trains and stations. Lastly, I am dedicated to getting BART to Livermore (in my District). The project is on schedule: the environmental Impact report will be finished in 2017. I expect to have shovels in the ground shortly after 2020.

BART impacts Castro Valley in several ways and I have already demonstrated how I promote collaboration between BART and Castro Valley. Built in the early 90s, the Castro Valley Station is relatively new and does not have the aged core system problems; however, the ridership demographics have evolved and I have seen to it that needed changes have been implemented. I installed a serpentine barrier at the bottom of the handicap ramp to prevent boarders or bikers from careening into patrons at high speed, installed more bike lockers to accommodate the 40% increase of bikes in two years, facilitated the “Fall Festival Car Show” and resolved problems with the “Farmers Market” in the station parking lot and changed the new cell phone tower planned to be buried in trees which now proudly flies the American Flag in a courtyard suitable for future ceremonies. I am engaged in the community, accessible to the public and am an a member of the following Castro Valley organizations: Castro Valley Matters, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, Democratic Club, Moose Lodge, American Legion and VFW (Past Commander and “Castro Valley Veterans Memorial” committee member). Additionally, outside of Castro Valley, I teach safety courses in community colleges and serve on their advisory committees, am a member of the Alameda County Emergency Managers Assn, Sheriff’s Underwater Dive Unit, “100 Club” member (fraternal organization supporting college educations for children of fallen police and firefighters) and I am a paramedic in a federal “Disaster Medical Assistance Team” (DMAT) which at this writing is on eight-hour alert status for deployment to Hurricane Matthew.

Education: I have a BA from St Mary’s in Moraga, a Master’s in Public Administration from Cal State East Bay, and am a graduate of the Army’s prestigious, “Command and General Staff College”.

I am endorsed by Congressman Swalwell, California Assembly Member Bill Quirk, Alameda County Supervisors Miley, Haggerty and Valle, Mayors, BART Directors, veterans, firefighters, teachers, environmentalists, and many of your friends and neighbors.  Please join them in voting, “McPartland for BART in 2016.”  www.McPartlandforBART.com

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