City leaders in Plano have a new representative on the board of Dallas Area Rapid Transit after director Paul Wageman resigned last week.
The council on Friday named outgoing city council member Anthony Ricciardelli as the interim director representing Plano on the 13-member board.
"Given what a pivotal time we're in for the relationship between Plano and DART... I really felt called to keep contributing in this way," Ricciardelli said.
A spokesperson for DART confirmed to KERA that Wageman resigned last week after informing the city. DART staff received little information from him about the resignation.
He did not respond to KERA’s requests for comment on the Friday city council meeting.
Wageman had served on the DART board since 2012 and was chair of the board from 2019 to 2021. Prior to that, he was chair and board member for the North Texas Tollway Authority.
Wageman is an attorney with Winstead PC, a national law firm serving clients in various industries in both private and public sectors.
Recently, his connection to the rideshare giant Uber was a point of public criticism among some Plano residents following a Reddit post that showed Wageman is a registered lobbyist for the company, according to The Texas Ethics Commission.
During a January council meeting, Plano residents and frequent DART riders called Wageman’s lobbying for Uber “unacceptable” and an “obvious subversion.”
Wageman told KERA in an interview at the time that Uber is a client for his employer, but he does not advocate on behalf of Uber on the DART board.
“I am transparent in recusing myself from items that involve clients of Winstead,” he said. “I'm not advocating at DART on behalf of Uber. It's just patently false, and it's just not true.”
DART echoed Wageman, telling KERA he appropriately recused himself from voting on items related to Uber and his law firm’s ties to the company were “not a conflict of interest.”
As a representative of Plano, Wageman has also been a vocal proponent of cutting member cities' contributions to DART. Plano is leading the charge for legislation to reduce DART’s funding by 25% because of what city officials are calling inequities in the value received from the agency.
Ricciardelli, who's replacing Wageman, supported the resolution the city passed last year calling to cut DART's funding.
On Thursday, regional leaders voted to resolve the debate locally through mediation.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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