Muni Chief Addresses D.C. Rumors

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Executive Director  Nathaniel Ford today addressed reports that he could be leaving the transit  agency for Washington, D.C.
     "Right now my focus is the MTA and its short-term and long-term  future," he said.
     Ford made the remarks during a break at today's SFMTA board of  directors meeting.
     A report by a Washington radio station cited him as one of more  than 20 candidates for the job of general manager at the Washington  Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
     Ford said he has "not had any discussions with any Metro  officials" about the job, but described Metro as "one of the premier agencies  in the country."
     He said his focus is on the future of the SFMTA, which released  its annual report on the state of the agency at today's board meeting.
     Ford joined the SFMTA in January 2006 after serving as the general  manager of Atlanta's transit agency. He has also worked for New York City's  Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and was the assistant chief  transportation officer at BART in the 1990s.