L.A.'s Top Transportation Official to Resign Following Staff Criticism

Jaime De La Vega, the General Manager of L.A.'s Department of Transportation announced his resignation yesterday effective Dec. 1st. During his two years on the job, the department shifted away from an auto-centric focus to embrace alternative modes.

November 1, 2013, 9am PDT | Jonathan Nettler | @nettsj

"Jaime De La Vega, who had been a major influence on transportation policy under former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, will leave the agency Dec. 1 after a two-year stint as general manager," report Laura J. Nelson and David Zahniser. "Under his leadership, the Transportation Department shifted its emphasis toward making streets more friendly for pedestrians and cyclists."

"The announcement comes weeks after more than 200 department engineers and other workers attended a City Council meeting to publicly criticize De La Vega’s management style," they note. "High-ranking supervisors said he had reshuffled senior staff, left key positions unfilled and ignored the concerns of his employees."

Writing for Streetsblog, Damien Newton shares that multiple sources in City Hall assured him "that the city’s direction on transportation projects wouldn’t change during the next 1250 or so days of Mayor Garcetti’s term. If anything, the new General Manager will be more progressive than any previous one, sources claim."

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Mayor's office: Top transportation department executive to resign

Published on Thursday, October 31, 2013 in Los Angeles Times