Sherwood Wakeman appointed BART interim GM

The Bay Area Rapid Transit's Board of Directors voted 6-3 to appoint a man who retired in July 2007 as BART's general counsel to be the agency's interim general manager. Sherwood Wakeman will begin as the interim general manager on April 23, 2011, the day after BART general manager Dorothy Dugger's resignation becomes effective. "Mr. Wakeman has complete integrity and a love for BART and will capably guide the agency until a permanent general manager is appointed," BART Board President Bob Franklin said. Wakeman started with the agency in 1973 as an attorney shortly after train service began. In May of 1987, he became the agency's general counsel. Wakeman twice served as interim general manager during his 31-year tenure at BART. "It was important to appoint someone who was outside of, yet familiar with, BART on an interim basis only, to provide stability to the organization during the transition and to not offer a future candidate for the permanent position the unfair advantage of incumbency," BART Board Member Joel Keller said.