John Kaehny

Former MTA CEO Lee Sander spent the last two-and-a-half years doing his best to make the MTA a transparent, accountable public agency, and in doing so restore its reputation. He let the sunshine in, but was unable to undo the damage to the agency's image caused by years of attacks from transit advocates, unions and politicians.

For decades, groups like Build for America have made a strong case that transportation spending has to increase. They have rightly warned that the U.S. transportation network is falling apart, with bridges failing and transit systems lagging behind international competitors. But wars, tax cuts and social priorities have stymied increased investment.