muniaccident1.5.jpgAfter having Muni Safety czar James M. Dougherty’s rumored departure from the agency reported as definite on Wednesday and hearing SF MTA chief Nat Ford’s fond public farewell to Dougherty at this week’s MTA board meeting (Ford manfully restrained himself from sobbing take me with you), we think it’s safe to assume that today’s official announcement from DC’s transit system, Metro that Dougherty’s becoming their Chief Safety Officer is the only non-April Fools press release we’ve gotten all day.

SF MTA spokesperson Kristen Holland confirms his departure, and tells us that the outgoing Chief Safety Officer and Director of Safety, Security and Enforcement’s last day will be April 9.

So who’s going to be Muni’s next CSODSSE (worst acronym ever)? Holland says that an interim person will be appointed, but that he or she has yet to be named. And after that, the search begins — while the CSODSSE job’s not posted yet, Holland assures us it will in the coming days.

As for Dougherty, he starts his gig in DC on April 19. And he already sounds super psyched, saying “I will remember that millions of people rely on Metro daily, and it’s our duty to ensure they get where they want to go and then get home safely.”

Here’s hoping he has better luck ensuring that in DC than he did here.

the author

Eve Batey is the editor and publisher of the San Francisco Appeal. She used to be the San Francisco Chronicle's Deputy Managing Editor for Online, and started at the Chronicle as their blogging and interactive editor. Before that, she was a co-founding writer and the lead editor of SFist. She's been in the city since 1997, presently living in the Outer Sunset with her husband, cat, and dog. You can reach Eve at eve@sfappeal.com.

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