⚡ The Vote That Changed Everything: Indigenous Leaders and Women of Color Oust RTA Director in Historic Transportation Justice Victory
💥 Whistleblower Bombs Transportation Meeting: Former Employee Reveals Coercive Silencing Tactics While Board Fires Director: Elise Lawson's courage exposes how public agencies weaponize NDAs.
When every single vote for accountability came from women, LGBTQ+ leaders, and people of color, while every vote for protecting Moghimi came from white men representing affluent suburbs, the pattern becomes impossible to ignore.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
👨👩👦👦 The grown-ups who make decisions about buses 🚌, roads 🛣️, and trains 🚆 in Pima County had a big meeting where they fired their boss after 13 years. The boss wasn't doing a good job - he only finished 18 out of 35 projects he promised, and most of the workers quit because they were unhappy 😔.
A brave lady named Elise told everyone that when she tried to retire, the organization tried to make her sign a paper 📝 saying she could never criticize them again, even though that's against the Constitution 📜.
The vote to fire the boss split exactly along lines of who has power - all the women 👩, the gay supervisor 🏳️🌈, and the Indigenous tribal leaders 🪶 voted to fire him, while all the white men from wealthy suburbs 🏘️ voted to keep him.
This shows how people from different backgrounds see problems differently 🌍, and sometimes it takes courage from people who've been left out to make things change for the better ✊.
🗝️ Takeaways
🎯 Historic firing: RTA Board terminates Executive Director Farhad Moghimi 5-4 after 13 years of failed leadership
📊 Devastating statistics: Only 18 of 35 promised projects have been completed, with 76% staff turnover since 2018
🚨 Worker silencing exposed: Former employee Elise Lawson reveals coercive NDAs stripping First Amendment rights
⚖️ Demographics matter: Every vote for accountability came from women, LGBTQ+, and people of color vs. all white men opposing
🌈 LGBTQ+ leadership: Gay supervisor Matt Heinz leads termination effort, bringingan intersectional lens to transportation justice
🏛️ Indigenous power: Tribal chairmen deliver moral authority, challenging white institutional protection
💰 Financial coercion: PAG attempted to buy Lawson's silence with thousands in earned PTO money
🗳️ Coalition building: Urban communities, tribal nations, and LGBTQ+ leaders unite against suburban elite interests
📋 Legal chaos: Organization operating without counsel after multiple attorneys refuse to work with them
🔄 Systemic change: Firing opens opportunity for community-centered transportation planning over suburban highway expansion
The Termination that Revealed Everything: How Pima County's Transportation Authority Used NDAs to Silence Workers While Failing Our Communities
Una historia de poder, silencio, y la lucha por la transparencia
In a dramatic confrontation that laid bare the dysfunction plaguing Pima County's transportation planning, the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Board voted 5-4 on June 5, 2025, to terminate Executive Director Farhad Moghimi after 13 years of leadership marked by unfinished projects, staff exodus, and what critics describe as authoritarian management practices.
But the real bombshell came not from the firing itself, but from the explosive testimony of former employee Elise Lawson, who revealed a pattern of silencing tactics that exposes how public agencies weaponize non-disclosure agreements against working people.
The Courage to Speak: Elise Lawson's Damning Testimony
In three minutes of devastating public comment, Lawson—a dedicated public servant who worked 11 years for the Pima Association of Governments (PAG)—pulled back the curtain on an organization that prioritizes secrecy over accountability. Her testimony wasn't just about paperwork; it was about institutional power being wielded to crush dissent and silence those who dare to question authority.
"I wasn't planning on retiring at that time," Lawson testified, her voice steady despite the weight of her revelations. "But the stress of the job was impacting my health. Morale was low and many of my coworkers were departing."
When Lawson tried to retire with dignity after more than a decade of service, PAG attempted to coerce her into signing what they euphemistically called a "general release of all claims agreement"—a document that would have stripped her of fundamental First Amendment rights in exchange for thousands of dollars in unused paid time off that was rightfully hers.
The agreement's provisions read like a blueprint for authoritarian control:
Complete silence: She could not tell anyone except her lawyer or tax advisor about the agreement's existence
Prohibition on criticism: She was forbidden from writing letters to editors critical of PAG or RTA policies
Exclusion from civic participation: She could not question PAG or RTA plans at public meetings or comment during public input sessions
Barred from volunteer service: She was prohibited from serving on citizen committees despite her expertise and community connection
"I gave up thousands of dollars from accrued PTO so I could retain my First Amendment rights to speak freely about important issues facing this community," Lawson declared, her defiance echoing through the boardroom.
The Players: A Coalition of Urban and Indigenous Leaders vs. Suburban Protectors
The 5-4 vote that terminated Moghimi revealed stark geographical and political divisions that reflect deeper inequities in how transportation resources are allocated across Pima County.
The Coalition for Change (5 votes for termination):
Mayor Regina Romero (City of Tucson) - The progressive Latina leader who has consistently advocated for equitable transportation investments in the urban core
Supervisor Matt Heinz (Pima County) - The openly gay physician and healthcare advocate who made the motion to terminate, bringing the LGBTQ+ perspective to transportation justice
Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela (South Tucson) - The Latina leader representing the overwhelmingly Latino community, often overlooked in regional planning
Chairman Verlon Jose (Tohono O'odham Nation) - The Indigenous leader whose powerful speech about leadership accountability became a defining moment
Chairman Julian Hernandez (Pascua Yaqui Tribe) - Representing tribal sovereignty and transportation justice
The Suburban Defense (4 votes against termination):
Mayor Joe Winfield (Oro Valley) - The RTA Board Chair, who defended Moghimi's "institutional memory"
Mayor Jon Post (Marana) - Citing legal concerns as cover for maintaining the status quo
Mayor Tom Murphy (Sahuarita) - Expressing procedural objections while protecting suburban interests
Ted Maxwell (Arizona State Transportation Board) - The appointed official representing state-level bureaucratic interests
Agenda Item Analysis: A Meeting Derailed by Institutional Crisis
Item 1: Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
The meeting began with standard procedures, but the tension was palpable as board members prepared for the confrontation everyone knew was coming.
Item 2: Call to the Audience - The Bombshell
What should have been a routine public comment became the most explosive moment of the meeting. Lawson's testimony about NDAs and worker intimidation set the stage for everything that followed, revealing an organization more concerned with controlling narratives than serving the public.
Supervisor Heinz immediately recognized the significance, directing that the matter be investigated by future interim leadership: "
I think once we have agreed upon an appointed interim [legal] council, we should direct this matter to the interim council as to whether or not the practice of a non-disclosure is acceptable and lawful."
Item 3: Legal Counsel Procurement - Institutional Paralysis
The boards' desperate search for legal representation exposed their vulnerability. After attorney Thomas Benavidez resigned in April and Samuel Coffman declined to serve as interim counsel, the organizations found themselves rudderless at a critical moment.
Mayor Winfield revealed Coffman's damning assessment: the firm concluded they lacked expertise to advise PAG on RTA regulations and recommended against interim representation due to the "complexity of the legal issues."
Item 4: The Termination Vote - Democracy in Action
Supervisor Heinz's Motion to Terminate
Heinz didn't mince words in his scathing indictment of Moghimi's leadership:
"We have so far, in almost 20 years, completed 18 of 35 named projects. That is not what success should look like. Another important thing that I looked at that helped me arrive at the decision that leadership change was necessary is turnover. There are 55 full-time employees at the organization, and 42 of them have left since 2018. That is over 80% turnover, and that tells me everything I need to know about the leadership style and effectiveness of our former executive director."
These aren't just statistics—they represent dozens of public servants driven from their jobs, institutional knowledge lost, and communities left underserved while taxpayer dollars fund dysfunction.
Maxwell's Failed Substitute Motion
State Transportation Board member Maxwell attempted to provide Moghimi a face-saving exit by offering a substitute motion that included two weeks of paid administrative leave and the opportunity to resign. The motion revealed the white male suburban establishment's preference for protecting bureaucrats over accountability to communities.
The substitute motion failed 3-6, with only Maxwell, Post, and Murphy supporting the softer approach.
Chairman Jose's Powerful Leadership Speech
Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Verlon Jose delivered perhaps the most compelling argument for termination, speaking with the moral authority of Indigenous leadership:
"I don't have a degree. I'm not an attorney. Just a simple man here. And what I do bring to this table is that... I believe that sitting here gives me a role that I have to play to represent the people, to represent the people."
Jose continued with devastating clarity:
"Some of you do have legal counsel that assists you. I don't. I think we got, well, first of all, I think we got too many attorneys that work for us, but I didn't say that. I'm coming here with just my basic human common sense... I think we're prolonging this long enough. We got business to do."
His words cut through the procedural excuses and legal hand-wringing to focus on fundamental accountability to the communities they serve.
Vote Summary: Democracy Prevails Despite Institutional Resistance
The Statistical Reality: Numbers Don't Lie
The data that Supervisor Heinz presented paints a devastating picture of institutional failure:
Project Completion Crisis
18 of 35 named projects completed in nearly 20 years
Success rate: 51.4% - a failing grade by any measure
Billions in taxpayer dollars committed with minimal accountability
Staff Exodus Epidemic
42 of 55 full-time employees departed since 2018
76% turnover rate - indicating systematic workplace dysfunction
Institutional knowledge hemorrhaging while communities suffer
These aren't abstract numbers—they represent real families displaced by gentrification while promised transit improvements never materialize, working-class communities cut off from job opportunities, and Indigenous nations denied sovereignty over their transportation futures.
The Silencing Machine: How Public Agencies Weaponize NDAs
Lawson's revelation about coercive NDAs exposes a broader pattern of how supposedly public agencies operate like private corporations when it comes to accountability. The agreement she refused to sign would have:
Stripped Constitutional Rights
Violated First Amendment protections for public employees
Created a chilling effect on future whistleblowing
Established financial incentives for silence over transparency
Excluded Community Voices
Prevented experienced professionals from serving on citizen committees
Silenced knowledgeable critics during public comment periods
Protected institutional dysfunction from scrutiny
Perpetuated Elite Control
Maintained information asymmetries between officials and communities
Protected failed leadership from consequences
Prioritized organizational reputation over public accountability
Power, Identity, and Justice: The Demographics of Accountability
The 5-4 split wasn't random—it revealed the stark fault lines of power, privilege, and representation that define transportation politics in Pima County.
This wasn't just about geography; it was about who gets to make decisions and whose voices matter in shaping our region's future.
The Coalition of the Marginalized
The five votes for termination came from leaders who represent communities historically excluded from power:
Regina Romero - Latina mayor leading the state's second-largest city, fighting for urban equity
Matt Heinz - Gay physician-turned-supervisor bringing healthcare advocacy and LGBTQ+ perspective to transportation justice
Roxanna Valenzuela - Latina mayor of South Tucson, representing the overwhelmingly Mexican-American community systematically excluded from regional planning
Verlon Jose - Indigenous chairman defending tribal sovereignty and community accountability
Julian Hernandez - Indigenous chairman standing with tribal nations against institutional colonialism
The White Male Suburban Fortress
The four votes against termination came exclusively from white men protecting suburban privilege:
Joe Winfield (Oro Valley) - Defending institutional "memory" over community accountability
Jon Post (Marana) - Using legal technicalities to shield dysfunction
Tom Murphy (Sahuarita) - Prioritizing procedure over people
Ted Maxwell (State Transportation Board) - Representing bureaucratic inertia and state-level detachment
This demographic breakdown exposes the brutal reality of who fights for change versus who protects the status quo.
When every single vote for accountability came from women, LGBTQ+ leaders, and people of color, while every vote for protecting Moghimi came from white men representing affluent suburbs, the pattern becomes impossible to ignore.
The Intersectional Nature of Transportation Justice
This vote revealed how transportation planning intersects with every form of systemic oppression—and how the four white men defending Moghimi represent communities insulated from these realities:
Gender: Women leaders like Romero and Valenzuela understand how inadequate public transit disproportionately impacts women who rely on these systems for economic survival, childcare access, and escaping domestic violence. The white male suburban mayors have never experienced the terror of waiting alone at a bus stop at night or missing work because transit failed.
LGBTQ+ Rights: Heinz brings lived experience of marginalization and understands how transportation access becomes literally life-or-death for LGBTQ+ youth. In Arizona, LGBTQ+ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their straight, cisgender peers. When families reject them, these youth concentrate in urban cores where they depend entirely on public transit to access LGBTQ+-affirming services, emergency housing, healthcare, and employment. The four white men voting to protect Moghimi represent suburban communities where LGBTQ+ youth either remain closeted or flee to cities—out of sight, out of mind.
Racial Justice: Indigenous leaders Jose and Hernandez recognize how transportation planning has been a weapon of colonization, destroying sacred sites and severing tribal communities from traditional lands. Latina leaders Romero and Valenzuela witness daily how highway expansion displaces families and floods neighborhoods with pollution. The white suburban males benefit from this extraction—their communities receive highway access funded by destroying communities of color.
Class Warfare: The coalition represents working-class communities where families choose between rent and car repairs, where parents work multiple jobs accessible only by bus, and where children walk dangerous roads because sidewalks were never built. Meanwhile, the four white men represent affluent suburbs where every family owns multiple cars and views public transit as something for "other people."
The Privilege of Procedural Objections
The four white men's focus on legal technicalities and procedural concerns reveals the luxury of prioritizing process over people—a privilege their identities afford them. When Winfield worried about "institutional memory" and Murphy cited "legal liability," they demonstrated how white suburban comfort allows some to value bureaucratic continuity over community suffering.
None of these men has ever waited two hours for a bus that never came while trying to get to a minimum-wage job. None has watched their children develop asthma from highway pollution while affluent suburbs enjoy clean air away from Superfund sites. None has been forced to choose between paying rent and buying a car to access employment in sprawling suburban job centers, which are designed to exclude transit.
This is the brutal arithmetic of privilege: when transportation failures don't affect your daily life, you can afford to treat accountability as an abstract legal question rather than an urgent community crisis.
Meanwhile, leaders like Chairman Jose cut through the procedural fog with moral clarity: "
Some of you do have legal counsel that assists you. I don't. I think we got, well, first of all, I think we got too many attorneys that work for us... I'm coming here with just my basic human common sense."
Jose's words expose the fundamental divide: while white suburban men hide behind legal technicalities and institutional expertise, Indigenous leadership offers authentic accountability rooted in community responsibility.
This demographic divide reflects a broader national pattern where communities of color, women, and LGBTQ+ leaders drive progressive change. At the same time, white male politicians defend institutional inertia, even when that inertia perpetuates systemic harm against the very communities they're supposed to serve.
What Happens Next: The Path Forward
Immediate Actions
Deputy Director David Atler assumes interim executive director responsibilities
Working group formation with Romero, Winfield, Maxwell, and Heinz to identify permanent replacement candidates
Legal counsel search continues with timeline pressure for June 19th decision
NDA investigation directed to future interim leadership
Systemic Reforms Needed
The firing opens space for fundamental changes:
Transparent hiring practices that prioritize community accountability over institutional loyalty
Worker protection policies that prevent retaliation against employees who speak truth to power
Community-centered planning that puts equity and accessibility before suburban convenience
Indigenous sovereignty recognition in all transportation decisions affecting tribal lands
The Broader Context: When Identity Determines Transportation Justice
This confrontation occurs against the backdrop of the escalating climate emergency and growing demands for transportation justice. Still, the demographic breakdown of the vote reveals something deeper: when decision-making power remains concentrated among white men, marginalized communities get marginalized outcomes.
Heinz's identity as an openly gay man adds crucial context to his leadership on this issue. In Arizona, LGBTQ+ youth face homelessness at rates 120% higher than their straight, cisgender peers—and those experiencing family rejection often flee to urban cores where they become entirely dependent on public transit for survival. When transportation systems fail, LGBTQ+ young people face literal isolation from life-saving resources: emergency housing, LGBTQ+-affirming healthcare, supportive services, and employment opportunities.
The four white suburban men who voted to protect Moghimi represent communities where LGBTQ+ youth either remain closeted for safety or flee entirely. Their constituents drive cars to gated subdivisions and private schools—they never witness queer teenagers sleeping on benches because buses stopped running, or trans youth unable to access hormone therapy because clinic hours don't align with unreliable transit schedules.
Heinz's medical background also shaped his understanding of transportation as a public health emergency. While suburban white men could dismiss project delays as mere inconvenience, Heinz recognized how inadequate transit access prevents people from reaching dialysis appointments, accessing fresh food, and escaping neighborhoods poisoned by highway pollution—realities invisible from air-conditioned SUVs in master-planned communities.
The stark racial and gender lines of this vote reflect broader patterns in American politics where women of color, Indigenous leaders, and LGBTQ+ officials consistently drive progressive change. At the same time, white male politicians defend systems that perpetuate inequality, even when those systems demonstrably fail the communities they claim to serve.
When Chairman Jose spoke about bringing "basic human common sense" instead of legal degrees and privileged expertise, he articulated something profound about authentic leadership versus credentialed gatekeeping. His words implicitly challenged the white male assumption that complex legal maneuvering matters more than community accountability—that protecting institutional "memory" trumps addressing institutional failure.
Moghimi's firing represents more than a personnel change—it's an opportunity to fundamentally restructure how transportation planning serves community needs rather than suburban privilege, and how decision-making power can shift from white male institutional protection toward intersectional community accountability that centers those most impacted by transit failures.
Community Response: Organizing for Accountability
The courage demonstrated by Elise Lawson and the coalition that voted for change shows what's possible when working people and marginalized communities refuse to accept institutional dysfunction. However, individual acts of resistance must evolve into collective organizing for systemic transformation.
Immediate Action Items
Attend future RTA meetings to ensure the interim director search prioritizes community accountability
Demand transparency in all hiring processes and organizational policies
Support worker protections against retaliation and coercive NDAs
Advocate for equity-centered transportation planning that serves all communities
A New Chapter: Hope Through Struggle
The termination of Farhad Moghimi and the exposure of silencing tactics mark a potential turning point for transportation justice in Pima County. When Indigenous leaders like Chairman Jose speak truth about accountability, when dedicated public servants like Elise Lawson risk financial security to preserve democratic principles, and when progressive coalitions like the one that secured this vote demonstrate political courage, transformation becomes possible.
The road ahead won't be easy. Entrenched interests will fight to maintain their advantages, bureaucratic inertia will resist change, and the search for new leadership will face pressure to maintain the status quo. But moments like these—when the mask slips and institutional dysfunction becomes undeniable—create space for the kind of fundamental reforms our communities desperately need.
Every major transportation justice victory in American history has required exactly this kind of coalition-building between urban communities, Indigenous nations, and working families willing to challenge elite control. From the Montgomery Bus Boycott to contemporary fights against highway expansion through communities of color, progress demands both individual courage and collective action.
The vote to fire Moghimi sends a clear message: the era of unaccountable transportation planning, which serves suburban wealth while neglecting community needs, is ending. What comes next depends on whether we seize this moment to build the equitable, sustainable, community-controlled transportation system our region deserves.
The struggle for transportation justice continues. Your voice matters. Your participation can help ensure this moment of accountability becomes a lasting transformation.
Join the conversation: What changes do you want to see in how transportation decisions are made in Pima County? How can we ensure the next executive director prioritizes community needs over suburban convenience?
Take action: Will you commit to attending future RTA meetings to hold new leadership accountable? What role can you play in building the transportation system our communities deserve?
Quotes
Elise Lawson (Former PAG Employee): "I gave up thousands of dollars from accrued PTO so I could retain my First Amendment rights to speak freely about important issues facing this community." - Delivered during explosive public testimony revealing coercive NDA practices
Matt Heinz (Pima County Supervisor): "There are 55 full-time employees at the organization, and 42 of them have left since 2018. That is over 80% turnover, and that tells me everything I need to know about the leadership style and effectiveness of our former executive director." - Making the case for termination with devastating statistics
Verlon Jose (Tohono O'odham Chairman): "I think we got, well, first of all, I think we got too many attorneys that work for us, but I didn't say that. I'm coming here with just my basic human common sense... I think we're prolonging this long enough. We got business to do." - Cutting through procedural excuses with moral clarity
Regina Romero (Tucson Mayor): "You all have witnessed, as well as the public, the concerns that I have had with this particular executive director. There's timelines that we have to work on, and unfortunately, I have lost all confidence that Mr. Moghimi will help us move along the work that the public deserves." - Declaring lost confidence before the termination vote
Elise Lawson: "I'm not allowed to criticize Pag or RTA or act in any way that could be seen as harmful to the organization. In other words, I am not allowed to write a letter to the editor that may be critical of Pag or RTA policies." - Exposing First Amendment violations in NDA agreement
Joe Winfield (Oro Valley Mayor): "I want to acknowledge his understanding of legal requirements of project delivery, his knowledge and understanding of the legal requirements and restrictions of the various funding sources, his responsiveness to requests for information." - Defending Moghimi's "institutional memory" before vote
All People Mentioned
Farhad Moghimi - Terminated RTA/PAG Executive Director (13 years), earned ~$200,000/year
Quote about him: "Mr. Moghimi will help us move along the work that the public deserves" - Romero expressing lost confidence
Elise Lawson - Former PAG employee (11 years), whistleblower on NDA practices
"The reason I am able to be here today to discuss this agreement without fear of legal action by Mr. Mohime is because I did not sign it."
Matt Heinz - Pima County Supervisor, gay physician, led termination motion
"We have so far, in almost 20 years, completed 18 of 35 named projects. That is not what success should look like."
Regina Romero - Tucson Mayor, Latina progressive leader
"I believe that it is for the good of the public that we move forward in both PAG and RTA."
Verlon Jose - Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman, delivered powerful accountability speech
"The leaders, the people elected to provide leadership to them. And I sit here, nobody wants to be dealing with these things."
Julian Hernandez - Pascua Yaqui Tribe Chairman, supported Indigenous coalition
Voted for termination as part of marginalized community alliance
Roxanna Valenzuela - South Tucson Mayor, representing Latino community
Voted for accountability as part of women/POC coalition
Joe Winfield - Oro Valley Mayor, RTA Board Chair, defended Moghimi
"I want to acknowledge his understanding of legal requirements of project delivery."
Jon Post - Marana Mayor, opposed termination citing legal concerns
Voted against termination as part of white male suburban bloc
Tom Murphy - Sahuarita Mayor, expressed procedural objections
"Not having legal representation when we're taking on such a heavy issue, such as this, opens us up, potentially, for liability."
Ted Maxwell - Arizona State Transportation Board member, offered substitute motion
"I really think the better option is for us to open an offer to the executive director to accept his resignation."
David Atler - PAG Deputy Director, assumed interim responsibilities
Absent from a crucial meeting, left the organization without clear leadership
Thomas Benavidez - Former RTA staff attorney, resigned in April 2025
The departure left the organization without legal counsel at a critical moment
Samuel Coffman - Dickinson Wright attorney, declined the interim counsel position
"We do not have the expertise to advise PAG on these matters, including RTA regulations."
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