San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) Chief Executive Officer Alex Clifford was fired Friday after what he described as a coordinated effort by Mayor Christina Fugazi and the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) to block critical funding from Stockton’s largest transit agency.
The San Joaquin Regional Transit District Board of Directors voted 4-1 to terminate Clifford “for convenience.” A “terminate for convenience” clause allows one party to end a contract at any time, for any reason, without proving the other party breached it.
The special meeting drew RTD employees who supported Clifford and urged directors to keep him, saying he stabilized the agency and fought for resources needed to maintain service. Clifford had served as CEO of RTD, which employs about 342 people and had an annual ridership of 2.59 million in 2024, since Jan. 31, 2022…