JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The outgoing leader of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is a finalist for a job in Dallas.
The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) board of directors named Nat Ford as one of three finalists for its president and CEO position on Friday.
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That move comes one week after Ford announced his intention to resign from JTA effective Jan. 8, 2027.
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His contact with the agency wasn’t set to expire until December 2028.
According to a news release from DART, a meet and greet was held with Ford and the other two candidates on Saturday.
The DART Board said it will meet on Tuesday at 6 p.m. for its regularly scheduled board meeting and it is expected to vote on a final candidate.
What we uncovered in our ‘Taken for a Ride’ series
Action News Jax has reported on controversies surrounding Ford’s leadership for the past three years in our Taken for a Ride series, starting with his base salary.
Action News Jax found Ford’s salary was significantly higher than transportation leaders in much larger cities like New York City and Chicago, and was even higher than the salary of the President of the United States.
When his additional benefits are added, it pushes his total compensation above half a million dollars a year.
Our investigations also found Ford amassed major travel bills on the taxpayers’ dime, racking up a nearly $190,000 tab between 2016 and 2023 alone.
Ford also faced significant criticism from Jacksonville’s City Council over the U2C program, which is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Those critiques have largely focused on the NAVI autonomous shuttles, which have already cost the city tens of millions of dollars, still operate with a human in the driver’s seat and have struggled to general substantial ridership.
Most recently, JTA went from a budget surplus to facing a $19 million shortfall, which resulted in 88 senior leaders being furloughed and a 15 percent reduction in Ford’s own salary.
Despite the hardships, JTA’s news release announcing Ford’s departure highlighted his successes, like securing $400 million in federal funds and his support of extending the local option gas tax to support regional infrastructure.
What’s next for JTA?
The JTA Board will discuss next steps forward to fill the soon-to-be-vacant CEO position during its next board meeting on July 29.
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