SMART nears hiring of general manager

Three finalists for the post of general manager at the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit district were interviewed Wednesday, but officials would only say the board gave instructions to staff.

"We directed staff to look into some issues," SMART board Chairwoman Valerie Brown said Thursday.

She would not say whether the board selected someone for the post, which previously had paid $175,000 a year.

If it did, SMART staff would have been directed to check references and negotiate a contract before making a formal hiring decision at its August meeting.

There were 35 candidates for the post, which has been vacant since Lillian Hames resigned in January.

Peter Scheer of the First Amendment Coalition in San Rafael said the board is not required to report on the directions it gave to protect applicants' confidentiality, but it can be good policy to let the public know.

-- Bob Norberg