Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee

Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee Overview

The Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee publishes an annual report that outlines the infrastructure rebuilding projects supported by the voter-approved bond measure. You can read the RR Annual Reports here:

2024 Annual Report

In November 2016, voters passed Measure RR, which authorized BART to issue bonds for $3.5 billion to rebuild the aging BART system. The overall goal of the rebuilding program is to make the system safer and more reliable and to reduce traffic. Measure RR required BART to establish an independent Bond Oversight Committee (BOC) to verify BART spends the bond revenues as promised. The BOC is comprised of seven members who represent a diversity of expertise, geography and demographic characteristics. Members serve two-year terms and are eligible to serve up to six years total. They are appointed by the BART Board of Directors as follows:

One member nominated by the American Society of Civil Engineers, or the American Public Transportation Association, or the Society of Women Engineers, or the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, or the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, or the Women’s Transportation Seminar, or any of their successor organizations, who has expertise in civil engineering management and oversight
One member nominated by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, or the American Public Transportation Association, or the Society of Women Engineers, or the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, or the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, or the Women’s Transportation Seminar, or any of their successor organizations, who has expertise in electrical engineering management and oversight
One member nominated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or its successor organization, who has expertise in audit or financial oversight
One member nominated by the Association for Budgeting & Financial Management section of the American Society for Public Administration, or its successor section or organization, who has expertise in municipal finance
One member nominated by the Project Management Institute, or its successor organization, who has expertise in construction project management;
Two members nominated by the League of Women Voters, Bay Area, or its successor organization or chapter

The duties and responsibilities of the BOC are to:

Provide diligent, independent and public oversight over the expenditure of funds from the sale of District general obligation bonds
Assess how bond proceeds are spent to ensure that all spending is authorized by the ballot measure
Assess whether projects funded by bond proceeds are completed in a timely, cost-effective and quality manner consistent with the best interest of BART riders and District residents
Publish an annual report that includes a detailed account of the Committee’s activities including its expenditures

The full text of the duties and responsibilities of the BOC are found in Section 11 of the resolution that established the BOC. Resolution 5572 amends the resolution that established the BOC.

Current Committee Members:

Janey Wang

JANEY WANG

Programmatic Informational Deep Dive Ad Hoc Subcommittee Member

Budgeting & Financial Management Seat

Janey Wang, Ph.D. is a BART rider who commutes from Walnut Creek to her job as an associate professor at San Francisco State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Affairs from Indiana University Bloomington. She also holds a master's degree in accounting and a bachelor's degree in economics from Renmin University of China. Her research focuses on local fiscal policy, fiscal federalism, fiscal health, debt management, and public and nonprofit finance. She has published in various public and nonprofit administration journals, including Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Municipal Finance Journal, Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting, & Financial Management, Journal of Public Affairs Education, and Journal of the Transportation Research Board. She has worked on funded projects supported by the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, the Kresge Foundation Advancing Knowledge Scholars Program, and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Vinit Shwaragi

VINIT SHRAWAGI

Annual Report Subcommittee Chairperson

Programmatic Informational Deep Dive Ad Hoc Subcommittee Member

Certified Public Accountants Seat

Vinit Shrawagi currently serves as the Director of Peer Review for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) where he oversees the administration of the peer review program for California, Arizona, and Alaska. He has 16 years of experience in finance and audit serving as a credit analyst for firms such as Silicon Valley Bank and Stanford Federal Credit Union and a staff auditor/technical reviewer for firms such as Deloitte (Formerly Deloitte & Touche); Burr, Pilger & Mayer; and CalCPA. Mr. Shrawagi earned both a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree and a Certificate of Advanced Accounting Proficiency from Santa Clara University.

Cindy Rosenthal

CINDY ROSENTHAL - Vice Chairperson of the Committee

Annual Report Subcommittee Member

League of Women Voters of the Bay Area Seat

Cindy Simon Rosenthal has a long and rich history of public service with an emphasis on public transit. Before retiring to Berkeley, California, Dr. Rosenthal served 12 years on the city council in Norman, Oklahoma, including being elected city-wide for three terms (nine years) as mayor. During her tenure as mayor, she was deeply engaged in bringing a regional transit authority to the metro area and leading negotiations to create the Regional Transportation Authority of Central Oklahoma.

Dr. Rosenthal has also served on numerous boards, associations and committees including as an alternate on the Berkeley Independent Redistricting Commission; board member of the Park Hills (Berkeley, CA) Homeowners Association; member of the Berkeley-Albany-Emeryville League of Women Voters; vice-president of the Oklahoma Municipal League; board member of the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments; and president of the Norman Public Library Board.

Dr. Rosenthal graduated with a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and earned her M.A. in Urban Studies at Occidental College and a Ph.D. in Political Science. As a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Rosenthal authored three books, 12 book chapters, and is the lead author or co-author of 37 other publications.

Civil Engineering Management and Oversight Seat - Currently Vacant

Michael McGill

MICHAEL R MCGILL - Chairperson of the Committee

Electrical Engineers Seat

Michael McGill currently serves as the president and principal civil engineer for MMS Design Associates (MMS). MMS is a consulting firm that has provided development-based services to cities, public agencies and private sector clients for more than 35 years. Mr. McGill’s firm specializes in large, complex projects involving major infrastructure analysis, funding, financing, long-range planning and design, construction and contract administration. As a civil engineer, Mr. McGill has designed and managed a variety of public works and other municipal projects and has overseen infrastructure projects totaling in excess of $1 billion.

Mr. McGill has served as both the president and a board member of the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District. He has also served as a commissioner for the Contra Costa County Local Agency Formation Commission as well as the president of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association.

Suzanne Loosen

SUZANNE LOOSEN

Annual Report Subcommittee Member

League of Women Voters of the Bay Area Seat

Suzanne Loosen is a transportation consultant with expertise in zero-emission vehicles, infrastructure, and programming. She has more than ten years of experience leading clean transportation initiatives that support consumer and commercial adoption.

Between 2015 and 2022, she served as the San Francisco Department of the Environment’s Zero-Emission and Low-Carbon Fuels Coordinator. During that time, she also managed the San Francisco Clean Cities Coalition.

Throughout her career she has served as a project manager, outreach analyst, and group facilitator for a multitude of transportation organizations including BART, the Valley Transportation Authority, and the Transportation Authority of Marin. Loosen is a resident of Alameda County.

SONJA STEWART

Programmatic Informational Deep Dive Ad Hoc Subcommittee Chairperson

Project Management Seat

Ms. Sonja Stewart has twenty years of experience in the field. She has project managed the business side of several multi-million and multi-billion dollar capital projects in both the public and private sectors including at Chevron, PG&E, the Port of Oakland and Survey Monkey. Ms. Stewart is an expert in project success assurance, communications, cost/schedule control, change management, risk, and stakeholder management. Ms. Stewart was born and raised in Oakland. She graduated California State University East Bay with a B.S. in Business Administration and Finance. She earned her Project Management Professional certification from the University of California at Berkeley Extension and Project Management Institute. She was also accepted to Stanford's Advanced Project Management program.

Meetings

The public may attend Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee meetings either in-person or remotely. The committee typically meets on the third Friday of January, April, June, and September from 9:30 am until 12:00 pm. The information about a meeting, including times and locations, is provided in the committee agenda below. Agendas are typically posted at least three days prior to the meeting.