"It brought together artists, riders, and advocates for a night of creativity, community, and a deep dive into how transit connects us all. Today, we’re bringing you an excerpt from that event. We’ll hear from the hosts of Muni Diaries Sarah Katz-Hyman and Kat Siegal. They spoke with Kurt Schwartzman, a local artist that celebrates Muni operators, and  Edward Wright, a member of the BART Board of Directors."

"Like many riders, Wright appeared perplexed and frustrated by BART’s recent outages. While the technical details may differ, he said, all of these equipment failures create inconvenience for riders and erode people’s trust.

'My most fundamental questions are, "What happened, how did it happen, what could have been done to prevent it, and what could we be doing now to make sure we prevent these things from happening in the future?"' Wright said…Wright reminded his colleagues of the stakes. 'We’re facing an existential financial deficit,”'he said. 'We cannot afford to have a trust deficit.'"

"Edward Wright, a BART board director representing San Francisco, saw Friday as an inflection point.

'I want to understand what caused (the breakdown), but I also want to understand what does getting around the Bay Area look like without BART,' Wright said. 'Because that’s a real question we’re having to contend with in the coming year.”

In that sense, Friday served as a harbinger.

"BART is proposing perhaps the biggest change: Wright, who made improving conditions at the plaza part of his BART board campaign, said the transit agency is trying to secure funding to renovate the plaza, which could involve 'activating' the area with markets or permitted street vendors. BART has also fixed the lighting in the plaza, and Wright said that BART users could see attendants at the station’s elevators. 
 

'We have focused virtually all of the staffing resources for all of our San Francisco stations to 16th Street,' said Wright, listing sworn officers, community ambassadors, and crisis intervention specialists. Plus, new fare gates were installed in December.

"Speakers like Edward Wright, a newly elected BART Board of Directors member, and Rebecca Solnit, an author and activist, got the crowd fired up with passionately worded and vigorously delivered speeches near the end of the rally."

"Supportive of the legislation is gay BART board member Edward Wright, who joined Wiener and other transit leaders earlier this month at a rally and press event held at the Daly City BART Station to promote SB 79.

'More homes near transit means more people taking our trains, and not clogging our streets and bridges with more cars,' noted Wright in a post on Threads, with video of his remarks at the March 14 event."

"Drivers have reason to care about the sales tax, too, Wright added. 'Even if you’re someone who never steps foot on BART, you don’t want everyone who rides it every day suddenly competing with you for parking spaces or clogging up the Bay Bridge when you’re trying to get to work,' he said."

"'We’re telling the story of how critical transit is to the Bay Area,' said Edward Wright, a BART board director representing San Francisco. 'It’s not just about the inconvenience of waiting an hour for a train, or not being able to ride at all after 9 p.m. It’s also about traffic, and your inability to get a parking space.'"

"Edward Wright couldn’t afford to live near his college and commuted two hours each day to reach his classes. Now a Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors member, Wright stood Friday at the Daly City station where he once disembarked. He praised a bill by state Senator Scott Wiener that he said will help bring more homes to the state, near public transportation, without the red tape. “I support this bill because this bill supports BART,” Wright said."

"'I think it is well established under the law that you can't determine funding allocation by race or political party. But I think what they have landed on, if you look at what states are better lined up for federal funding under this proposal, it is places that are white, places less hospitable to LGBTQ people, and perhaps more hostile to queer and trans people,' said Edward Wright, a gay man who represents San Francisco on the board overseeing regional subway system BART.

"Wright, the BART board director, said he wants to press for a transformation of the plazas. One easy improvement could be a simple repaving, he said, while more ambitious goals may include “reimagining” the space with amenities similar to how the city has revived U.N. Plaza with skateboarding installations, pingpong tables and spaces for fitness classes over the past few years."

"We've invested in community ambassadors, we've invested in elevator and bathroom attendants, we've invested in crisis intervention specialists," 'said BART Board Director Edward Wright. "These are trained social workers that can intervene when people are having a behavioral health crisis."

Across the Bay Area, voters signaled a move away from progressive politics. A progressive mayor and DA were recalled in Oakland. A Levi’s heir was elected as San Francisco’s new mayor. The Bay Area rejected efforts to expand rent control and supported increasing criminal penalties for theft and certain drug crimes. What kind of platform do left wing political leaders need to appeal to this Bay Area electorate? We talk to political leaders about where progressives go from here.

"San Francisco voters made their decision November 5, choosing Edward Wright, who is currently an adviser for strategy and communication for the city's Muni public transit system. Wright is also a former co-president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club.

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'I'm honored and grateful to San Francisco voters for putting their trust in me, and I'm proud of our grassroots campaign that won in every neighborhood in our district,' Wright stated to the Bay Area Reporter on November 12. "

"Wright is an unabashed transit nerd. An entire section of his campaign website is devoted to plans for what he’ll do if elected. Before Wright could afford to live in San Francisco, he commuted on BART to San Francisco State University. At the time, Wright wanted to make trenchant documentaries about social change, but it gradually became clear that the real fun lay in actually trying to change society for the better, instead of filming other people doing it. Studying film is surprisingly good preparation for politics, says Wright. He still uses every skill he learned there, including scripting and editing his own campaign ad."

"Today I work on transit strategy for Muni, and I’m running for the BART Board of Directors. Knowing the shoulders I stand on, I announced my campaign on Harvey Milk Day. Cleve and Harvey are both known for many things. Their generosity in mentoring those who want to follow their footsteps should be among them."

"Wright’s experience in public transportation makes him the stronger choice. Sangirardi is thoughtful and eloquent, but Wright’s time with Muni has helped him gain a more nuanced understanding of transit systems. He offered more specific ideas for cost savings, such as partnering with other Bay Area transit agencies on procurement, negotiating for lower rates with PG&E and auditing overtime so it’s used efficiently and to thwart wage theft that BART’s inspector general discovered.

Wright earns the editorial board’s endorsement."

"KTVU's Alex Savidge and Claudine Wong are joined by Edward Wright, President Emeritus of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club to discuss the significance of Harvey Milk Day and impact his life still has on the queer community, decades after his death."

"Widely expected to seek one of San Francisco's seats on the board overseeing the regional transit agency BART, former Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club Co-President Edward Wright made it official Wednesday. He timed his digital announcement to coincide with Harvey Milk Day."