RIDE OVER FOR 2 MTA OFFICIALS : TRANSIT AGENCY CHIEF TO REPLACE EXECUTIVES.

Byline: Mark Katches Daily News Staff Writer

In his first major shake-up since taking control of the beleaguered transit agency, MTA chief Joseph Drew has decided to fire the head of bus and rail operations and the agency's chief financial officer, agency officials said Wednesday.

Drew, who took over as head of the agency in December, has told Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members that he intends to fire operations division chief Art Leahy and finance officer L.A. ``Kim'' Kimball.

``This is a management decision that Joe Drew feels he must take,'' said MTA board chairman Larry Zarian.

``Joe was hired to make tough decisions like that,'' Zarian said. ``The board has shown confidence in him and has told him to go and make some bold moves to improve the organization.''

MTA board member Michael D. Antonovich said he agreed with Drew's decision to fire the agency executives.

``Joe Drew is a man of action who demands accountability and responsibility,'' Antonovich said. ``(Predecessor) Frank White's greatest mistake is he failed to take action.''

Leahy, who is paid $130,446 a year, has worked for the transit agency since 1971 and was head of bus operations for the Rapid Transit District before it was merged into the MTA in 1993.

Kimball, whose salary is $125,428 a year, was hired in 1993 by Franklin White.

A senior MTA official said Wednesday afternoon that neither Leahy nor Kimball had been told yet that they were losing their jobs.

Leahy was in Kansas City attending a transit association conference and could not be reached. Kimball also could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Drew refused to comment on the matter.

An MTA official said a national search will be conducted to replace the two executives.

Kimball was a White protege in New York who was hired in March 1993 shortly after White moved from New York to head the MTA.

His most recent job description was chief administrative officer in charge of the financial side of the agency, but since White left the agency and Drew took over, many of his duties already have been delegated to other executives.

The decision to dump Leahy stunned some officials at the agency, because the operations division has escaped much of the controversy associated with the MTA.

Most of the focus in recent years has been on problems surrounding costly and embarrassing subway construction projects that eventually led to the ouster of the agency's top construction official, Ed McSpedon, and later White.

Leahy's primary job has been handling bus operations, although he also is responsible for the operation of rail projects once they are completed.

While the agency's rail projects carry fewer than 100,000 riders a day, the bus system moves more than 1 million riders a day with a fleet of about 2,000 buses.

``Whoever is in charge of the bus service has failed,'' said Eric Mann, director of the grass-roots Labor Community Strategy Center.

``This is the most overcrowded bus system in the United States. In meetings with Art Leahy, virtually everything we have ever proposed, like reducing fares and adding 200 new clean-fuel buses a year, he said couldn't be done.''

One factor that may have contributed was a trip two weeks ago in which Zarian, Drew and Leahy toured the bus system.

Zarian and Drew were unhappy with the conditions of the buses they rode. It didn't help matters when they tried to catch a bus at a stop and the bus zoomed past without stopping, sources said.

``Our bus system is much improved, but it needs a lot more work,'' Zarian said. ``We need to improve service. We need to improve services in areas where people are hurting. We need clean buses, on-time buses and safe buses.''

Other board members say they were unhappy with the progress of the agency's highly touted anti-graffiti program, and with problems with the fleet's clean-fuel buses.

The Daily News has reported extensively on mechanical problems associated with the MTA's fleet of methanol and compressed natural gas buses.

Leahy started his Los Angeles transit career as a bus driver before moving up the ranks to executive officer for operations under White.

Another factor leading to the dismissals was a ``peer review'' by chief executives at other agencies who criticized the management at the MTA, board sources said.

``Leahy was not a forward-thinking manager to improve the bus system to meet the needs of the people,'' said a board member who spoke on the condition that his name not be used in this story. ``He had an apathetic approach to change.''

Another board member said the decision came down to a question of competence.

``Our bus system hasn't had any creative improvement under Leahy,'' the board member said. ``He's a bureaucrat of the worst kind.''

The decision to fire the two executives had nothing to do with an Arthur Anderson audit that was released Tuesday, officials said.

Drew, in fact, began telling board members Monday that he intended to fire the two executives Friday after U.S. Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena made a scheduled visit.