State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, will be hosting a news conference at the Orinda BART station Wednesday morning where he will demand that BART be levied a maximum fine for violating state laws to support its bond measure in 2016.
The senator is demanding that the Fair Political Practices Commission levy a maximum fine after it found BART used public funds for political purposes in support of Measure RR, a $3.5 million bond measure passed in November 2016 to fund repairs and improvements on its transit system.
The commission has proposed a fine of $7,500 to be approved at its meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday in Sacramento. According to the commission, BART can be fined as much as $33,374.98 for its violations.
Glazer plans to be at the Orinda station at 9:30 a.m. and wants the maximum fine allowable in order to send a message to BART and other public agencies about misusing public funds.
The senator has been a vocal critic of BART operations dating back to the strike that shut down train service in 2013 and questioned the agency's commitment to fiscal responsibility in the months leading up to the vote on Measure RR in 2016.
