City councilman urges GET board members to resign in wake of strike

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - After the Golden Empire Transit strike that shut down bus service for more than a month, the Bakersfield city council is working to push out it's appointees to the GET Board, according to a letter from Councilmember Ken Weir.

In the letter, which is dated Aug. 21, Weir says that if two GET board members don't resign by 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. Sept. 1, the city council will consider removing them.

Weir states that he believes problems at GET run deeper than a labor dispute, based on his view of “conversations and the general demeanor at the Council meeting.”

"In my experience it is difficult, if not impossible, to effect change in an organization without a fresh outlook and approach," Weir says in the letter.

GET board members Norris Ledbetter and Howard Silver were specifically named, with Weir saying in the letter that if they leave now, it "will provide… a smooth, professional, and dignified exit" from the agency.

Weir warns that if they fail to comply, the city council may act during its Sept. 10 meeting.