People Who Should Not Be On Transit System Boards

People like this.

The vote represented an end to the highly publicized hubbub that started late last month, when Mr. Cuomo warned that the authority’s practice of extending free travel benefits violated state law, which requires that board members serve without compensation.

Board members at first threatened to go to court to defend the free travel privileges, but facing mounting public pressure, the board backed down and said it would change its policies.

That seemed to end the matter. But then, last week, some board members said they had second thoughts and defended the free travel as an important part of their jobs overseeing the region’s mass transit system. “Why should I ride and inconvenience myself when I can ride in a car?” asked David S. Mack, a board vice chairman who represents Nassau County. The comment, which was widely reported in the news media, drew scorn from officials.