Changing times

Daily Point

Is it time to change the face of the MTA?

At a New York Transit Museum gala last Monday, previous chairmen of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority were recognized. A photo of them flashed on the screen — all white men.

Joseph Lhota, according to sources who were there, remarked that perhaps it’s time for a woman to chair the MTA.

That’s been a running refrain from observers wondering who might succeed Lhota after he resigned Friday.

Of course, questions about how the office will be set up — such as whether it’ll just be an unpaid chairmanship like Lhota held or whether the chair and chief executive spots will once again be linked, or whether Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will stay local in his search, or look beyond New York for choices — remain to be seen.

Among the first names to come up in nearly every conversation: Veronique Hakim, the MTA’s current managing director and a past president of New York City Transit. On Friday, vice chairman Fernando Ferrer, who will act as chairman until a permanent replacement is chosen, told The New York Times he was a “huge fan” of Hakim, who goes by Ronnie.

Before Lhota’s appointment, Hakim was among the finalists for the MTA chair job along with now-MTA president Pat Foye, who also has been named as a potential contender for chairman now.

Then there are a few other female contestants.

There’s Catherine Rinaldi, who heads Metro-North as that railroad’s first female president. Rinaldi has a history at the MTA dating to 2003, and before that was an aide to Gov. George Pataki. But one source told The Point that Rinaldi’s appointment would be unlikely because she’d be jumping over people like Hakim and Foye who are higher in the MTA hierarchy.

Helena Williams, Nassau County’s chief deputy county executive, was the Long Island Rail Road’s first female president, and in 2009, served as interim chief executive and executive director of the MTA. Before that, she was president of Long Island Bus. Williams was fired from the LIRR in 2014, in part, perhaps, because of her loud advocacy for the railroad, especially over the potential effort to give Metro-North access to Penn Station.

Then there’s Polly Trottenberg, commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation and a member of the MTA board. Although Trottenberg’s experience has not been in mass transit, she has been a fierce advocate for NYC issues and concerns at the MTA, and those who doubt whether she’d be appointed mostly do so from a political standpoint, noting the acrimonious relationship between Cuomo, who appoints the MTA chair, and Mayor Bill de Blasio, for whom Trottenberg works.

It’s not hard to find a female head of transportation authorities beyond New York’s borders, in case the governor looks elsewhere. Indeed, the nation’s second-largest public transportation system — second only to the MTA — is the Regional Transportation Authority, whose system includes the Chicago Transit Authority. Its executive director is Leanne P. Redden.

Randi F. Marshall

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Quick Points

A real-life super hero’s passing

• Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, has died. Here’s to the real-life Marvel. RIP, Stan.
• The White House reportedly has an audio recording of the killing of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, provided by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who wants the United States to take tougher action against Saudi Arabia. Interesting. Tougher action against a country whose citizens committed political violence was not something Erdogan advocated when 15 of his bodyguards were charged with beating up Kurdish protesters in Washington last year.
• A trial judge in Italy concluded that the mayor of Rome committed no crime when she appointed the brother of her top aide to an important tourism position. Here’s the new ad campaign: Nepotism, it’s good work when you can get it, no matter where you live.
• President Donald Trump tweeted that vote recounts are stealing elections from Republicans in Florida. If you’re asking what his evidence is, you haven’t been paying attention.
• White House officials have told members of Congress that President Donald Trump doesn’t want to give Puerto Rico any more Hurricane Maria recovery funds because he says the island’s government is using the money to pay off debt. If you’re asking what his evidence is, you haven’t been paying attention.
• Until Pope Francis asked them to delay a vote, U.S. Catholic bishops at this week’s national assembly were scheduled to consider a number of reforms intended to serve as a stronger response to the clergy sexual abuse scandal. The reforms apparently did not include releasing the names of all clergy accused of sexual abuse. So how strong was that response?
• Former Clinton family adviser Mark Penn says Hillary Clinton will make another presidential run in 2020, saying two defeats won’t “stand in the way of her claim to the White House.” And there’s the problem with Clinton-land — her “claim,” when she has none.

Michael Dobie

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Talking Point

Who will replace James as public advocate?

New York Attorney General-elect Letitia James will soon vacate her position as NYC’s public advocate, an unanticipated event that is like the holidays coming early to about three-quarters of the city’s political class.

Public advocate, a citywide job, is often seen as a potential springboard to the mayoralty, as it was for Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2013. This time, that’s even more true than usual: Whoever wins a nonpartisan special election this spring would have a leg up in a 2019 primary and general. Whoever wins there would serve until the end of 2021, just in time to run for mayor with de Blasio term-limited out of the job.

That has scrambled some political calculations, and some mayoral types are looking at the open race. Names that came up in The Point’s conversations with NYC politicos included former City Council Speakers Melissa Mark-Viverito and Christine C. Quinn. Jumaane Williams has a new level of name recognition given the more than 400,000 votes he received in the five boroughs during his losing but competitive September run for lieutenant governor. Democratic National Committee vice chair and Bronx Assemb. Michael Blake could have access to national funding.

Brooklyn Assemb. Jo Anne Simon and City Council members like Manhattan’s Ydanis Rodriguez, Brooklyn’s Rafael Espinal, the Bronx’s Ritchie Torres, and Republicans Joseph Borelli of Staten Island and Eric Ulrich of Queens are among those rumored to be looking at the public advocate race.

Conversations with labor leaders are already taking place for those looking to get a jump on the competition.

In borough president news, popular Manhattan BP Gale Brewer may have eyes on a City Council race.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn BP Eric Adams has long hinted at the mayoralty, and just this month a new @EricAdamsForNYC Twitter account popped up and started following city politicians and journalists. The website it links to? EricAdams2021.com.

Mark Chiusano

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Pencil Point

A different caravan