A finalist for CEO and president of Dallas Area Rapid Transit has a history of spending controversies at the transportation agency he currently leads in Florida.
Nathaniel Ford was president and CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority for 13 years, but he announced this month he would resign in January after becoming one of three finalists to lead DART.
His time at the Florida transit agency was marked by accusations of financial mismanagement.
Action News JAX, a Fox station in Jacksonville, began reporting in 2023 that Ford spent tens of thousands of dollars on travel. The investigation found Ford was frequently out of the office traveling, having taken 140 trips total since 2016. He also spent more than $40,000 on travel in 2023, including a 14-day trip to Spain and a five-day visit to Hawaii, the station reported.
The station reported in 2024 that the transit agency’s card was used to purchase massages, resort hotel bookings and photo booths, prompting scrutiny from the Jacksonville City Council.
Ford was paid more than $625,000 a year despite sluggish public transit ridership numbers.
Ford did not respond to multiple texts and calls on a cell phone number listed under his name over the last two days. KERA also reached out to the JTA, and will update this story with any response.
DART is now likely negotiating a contract with Ford to become the agency’s next president and CEO.
The DART board of directors approved 9-6 negotiations with an unnamed “Candidate A” at a July 14 meeting. While Ford wasn’t named directly, his past spending controversies were alluded to. And the candidate was referred to as “he” — Ford appears to be the only candidate using those pronouns.
A DART spokesperson told KERA the finalist’s name will be announced on July 21 after the employment process is complete. KERA asked the spokesperson whether the agency was aware of reporting about Ford's performance in Jacksonville, and will update this story with any response.
Nathan Barbera, the DART board member that represents Plano and Farmers Branch, seemingly raised concerns about Ford’s time at JTA.
"Time is needed to do due diligence on the fact that every single agency that the candidate has left from has left in a cloud of spending controversies, and I just simply do not want that to happen to DART in two years from now," Barbera said.
DART board member Doug Hrbacek also raised concerns.
“Red flag after red flag after red flag has been uncovered,” Hrbacek said, adding that he wanted more time to research the candidate.
Both board members also raised issues with the candidate selection process.
Barbera said the person had voluntarily left the candidate pool before rejoining on July 10 after four board members, “decided to make him a candidate again.” KERA reached out to Barbera for clarification on his comment and will update this story with any response.
Rosa Medina-Cristobal, chief human resources officer for DART, confirmed at the meeting a candidate had rejoined the selection process on July 10. That would have been one week after Ford announced his resignation at JTA.
Not all board members were concerned with Ford’s past.
“I think that the concerns that have been raised, both about the process and about unearthing certain facts, makes it all look very suspicious and macabre, but the fact is those concerns are preposterous to me,” board member Enrique MacGregor said. "They're all questions that can easily be answered before or during the contract negotiation process with that candidate."
The other two finalist candidates are Dee Leggett, director of business operations for Herzot Transit Services, and Monica Tellez-Fowler, president of the Central Ohio Transit Authority.
Leggett also previously served as executive vice president of growth and regional development of DART.
The Dallas Area Transit Alliance, a public transportation advocacy group, endorsed Leggett in a press release Thursday, calling her the most qualified candidate for the position.
The group told KERA in an email its concerns with Ford’s history did factor into its endorsement of Leggett.
DART's search for a new leader came after former CEO and President Nadine Lee stepped down earlier this year. Lee led DART through some of its toughest years, including when multiple member cities tried to hold elections to leave the agency in May.
Some cities argued they were not getting transit service equal to how much money they contributed to DART.
Ultimately, only residents from one city, Highland Park, voted to leave. Other cities either cancelled their elections to leave or voters decided to stay.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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