Dallas Area Rapid Transit has narrowed its search for a new president and CEO to three transit executives who would inherit an agency reshaped by city withdrawal votes, funding concessions, promised governance changes and the abrupt end of Nadine Lee’s tenure.
The DART Board of Directors named Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., Dee Leggett and Monica Tellez-Fowler as finalists on July 10. All three appeared at a public meet-and-greet July 11, and the board is scheduled to recommend one candidate at its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday before authorizing contract negotiations.
“We are confident these three candidates represent the best public transportation leaders from across the country,” DART Board Chair Randall Bryant said in the announcement. “The Board has a monumental task ahead of us to select our next President & CEO from this finalist panel.”
Three finalists with different records
Ford has led the Jacksonville Transportation Authority for more than 13 years and announced July 3 that he will step down effective January 8, 2027. His tenure included the First Coast Flyer bus rapid transit system, the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center, more than $400 million in federal discretionary grants and the Ultimate Urban Circulator autonomous vehicle project.
Leggett is the only finalist with recent senior leadership experience inside DART. She now serves as director of business operations for Herzog Transit Services after working as DART’s executive vice president and chief development officer.
Leggett also presented DART ridership figures during a December 2025 meeting with the Dallas City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where officials discussed ridership that remained below pre-COVID levels. Her prior service gives the board a candidate with direct knowledge of DART’s capital program, internal operations and member-city concerns.
Tellez-Fowler has led the Central Ohio Transit Authority since May 2024. She previously served as COTA’s chief operating officer and deputy CEO, C-TRAN’s deputy CEO and treasurer, and Trinity Metro’s chief financial officer.
At Trinity Metro, Tellez-Fowler oversaw the federal grant process for the $1 billion, 27-mile TEXRail project. During her tenure at COTA, Central Ohio voters approved an additional 0.5% sales tax to support a planned 45% increase in transit service, new bus rapid transit lines and pedestrian infrastructure.
Pressure reached DART’s top office
Lee announced in March that she would not seek an extension of her contract beyond September. DART terminated her contract in early April after board leadership and Lee failed to reach an agreement on an earlier transition and separation terms.
Lee described the regional conflict as a distraction from DART’s transportation mission during an interview following her announcement.
“But at the broader level, we’ve encountered a lot of political hurdles, and that’s one of the things that has distracted us from our mission, distracted us from moving faster at improving the quality of our services and things like that,” Lee told Fox 4.
Asked whether those hurdles directly caused her decision, Lee answered, “Not necessarily directly.”
Lee’s comments came after member-city officials challenged DART’s spending and governance and The Dallas Express published a series of reports on executive compensation, service cuts and funding disparities.
One DX investigation found that DART paid more than $2.4 million in executive bonuses from 2020 through 2024 while its executive ranks grew from 47 to 74, a 57.5% increase. Base salaries for those executives rose from $8.1 million to $14.6 million during the same period.
The agency later enacted its largest service reduction in four decades after citing a projected shortfall of approximately $42 million to $43 million. DART also approved a $60,000 bonus and $12,000 cost-of-living increase for Lee in November 2025 as cities considered leaving the system.
Another DX report, citing a 2023 Ernst & Young analysis, found Plano contributed $109.6 million in sales taxes while receiving $44.6 million in DART services. Dallas received $282.7 million more in services than it contributed.
DX also obtained a July 2025 letter in which then-DART Board Chair Gary Slagel asked suburban mayors seeking General Mobility Program funding to commit to halting state reform efforts.
Withdrawal votes forced major concessions
Six member cities ultimately called elections on whether to remain in DART.
Plano, Irving and Farmers Branch canceled their elections after DART and regional leaders advanced revenue-sharing and governance concessions. Highland Park voters chose to leave the system, while Addison and University Park voted to remain.
Under the six-year General Mobility Program, participating member cities will receive a phased share of sales tax collections that could reach the equivalent of 10% by fiscal year 2031, including matching funds from the Regional Transportation Council.
DART’s next CEO will have to oversee implementation of those agreements while confronting ridership that remains below pre-COVID levels and continuing questions about whether member cities receive appropriate value for their taxpayer contributions.
The July 14 board agenda lists two separate steps: recommending a candidate and authorizing negotiations over an employment agreement. It does not approve a completed contract. Interim President and CEO David Leininger will remain in place during the transition.
Whoever ultimately takes the job will lead DART with the agency’s finances, service levels and relationships with its member cities under continued public scrutiny.
Provided by Dallas Express
