JTA hires Carlos Tobar to head up its Mass Transit

[urbanjacksonville]

Is this a good thing for Jacksonville transit?

JTA has hired Blair Fishburn as its new chief financial officer and Carlos Tobar to head up its Mass Transit Division. Fishburn previously spent 11 years with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority while Tobar was chief of operations for Hillsborough Area Regional Transit in Tampa.

[Steve]

Saw that earlier, but couldn't post where I was at.  I think it's hard to answer at this point without seeing his resume.

[fsujax]

old news....he's been at JTA for almost three months.

[exnewsman]

From the press release on March 17, 2009:

JACKSONVILLE, FL â€" The Jacksonville Transportation Authority has selected Blair Fishburn to be its new Chief Financial Officer and Carlos Tobar to head up its Mass Transit Division. 

Fishburn comes to JTA after 11 years at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority where he served as its CFO and Deputy Executive Director.  Previously, Fishburn consulted for Tyco Electronics in the mid-1990’s and spent 20 years working in various positions with IBM.  A biology major at Trinity College in Hartford Connecticut, Fishburn earned his MBA in Finance, graduating cum laude, from Iona College in 1985.  Fishburn is married and has three children.

Tobar spent most of 2008 as the Chief of Operations for Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) in Tampa.  During that time, HART was honored by the Florida Public Transportation Association (FPTA) with its 2008 Safety Award.  Prior to moving to the sunshine state, Tobar managed transit services in both Elk Grove and Lodi, California and was a transportation planner in the Lake Tahoe region. Under his management, Elk Grove was named the 2007 Outstanding Public Transit System by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Tobar graduated from the University of California-Davis with a degree in economics.  He is married with four kids, and has served as a volunteer and lay minister since 1994.

[urbanjacksonville]

So now that everyone has had three months to think about it, Is this a good thing for Jacksonville transit? Haha!

[Steve]

Reading the above paragraph, I would have liked to see then get someone with more of a regional rail background, but what can you do.

With that said, I don't think I can make an educated decision on whether or not he is qualified and if he is a good fit without hearing his plans, which may take a little while to develop.  I'm curious how the organization works now, with Clem, Tobar, and company.

[Noone]

Reading the above paragraph, I would have liked to see then get someone with more of a regional rail background, but what can you do.

With that said, I don't think I can make an educated decision on whether or not he is qualified and if he is a good fit without hearing his plans, which may take a little while to develop.  I'm curious how the organization works now, with Clem, Tobar, and company.

So how has this worked out?

[tufsu1]

Fishburn is still there...Tobar was replaced by Clinton Forbes in 2011