October 26, 2026 - DallasObserver.com -
Ford will make $515,000 annually, a considerable raise from what his predecessor was paid
Suburban representatives on the DART Board fought against hiring Nathaniel Ford as the agency’s next CEO. Two months later, with Ford set to officially begin Monday and facing a subpoena in Florida, some board members’ concerns remain.
The DART Board approved “Candidate A” from a pool of three candidates on July 14 in a 9-6 vote largely divided along suburban/urban lines, as representatives questioned a process The Dallas Morning News editorial board ultimately described as “bungled.” Members from Irving, Plano, Farmers Branch, Garland and Carrollton joined Dallas director Patrick Kennedy in opposing the selection.
“Time is needed to do due diligence on the fact that every single agency that the candidate has left from has left under a cloud of spending controversies,” Farmers Branch and Plano’s Nathan Barbera said. “And I just simply do not want that to happen to DART in two years from now.”
Ford is currently under investigation in Florida, where he most recently led the financially beleaguered Jacksonville Transit Authority. On Sept. 28, JAX Today reported that the JTA was being subpoenaed amid an ongoing spending probe, with state investigators demanding, among other things, communications involving Nathaniel Ford and his wife, who has worked for a consulting firm that was involved in the development of Silver Line, DART’s most recent major rail addition.
Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/new-dart-ceo-faces-subpoenas-as-suburban-board-reps-addison-mayor-weigh-in-40726361/
Ford will make $515,000 annually, a considerable raise from what his predecessor was paid
Suburban representatives on the DART Board fought against hiring Nathaniel Ford as the agency’s next CEO. Two months later, with Ford set to officially begin Monday and facing a subpoena in Florida, some board members’ concerns remain.
The DART Board approved “Candidate A” from a pool of three candidates on July 14 in a 9-6 vote largely divided along suburban/urban lines, as representatives questioned a process The Dallas Morning News editorial board ultimately described as “bungled.” Members from Irving, Plano, Farmers Branch, Garland and Carrollton joined Dallas director Patrick Kennedy in opposing the selection.
“Time is needed to do due diligence on the fact that every single agency that the candidate has left from has left under a cloud of spending controversies,” Farmers Branch and Plano’s Nathan Barbera said. “And I just simply do not want that to happen to DART in two years from now.”
Ford is currently under investigation in Florida, where he most recently led the financially beleaguered Jacksonville Transit Authority. On Sept. 28, JAX Today reported that the JTA was being subpoenaed amid an ongoing spending probe, with state investigators demanding, among other things, communications involving Nathaniel Ford and his wife, who has worked for a consulting firm that was involved in the development of Silver Line, DART’s most recent major rail addition.
Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/new-dart-ceo-faces-subpoenas-as-suburban-board-reps-addison-mayor-weigh-in-40726361/