OC Political

The Transportation Corridor Agencies’ CEO Neil Peterson will be resigning this week, according to the agenda posted Friday on the agency’s website.

Both TCA Boards will be voting on a “settlement agreement and mutual general release” with Peterson. Michael Kraman will be appointed as acting CEO. Kraman currently serves as the Chief Engineer for the TCA, and was appointed interim CEO after Peterson went on administrative leave.

Peterson had been under fire recently due to the lobbying contracts that were never voted on by the full Board of Directors. One contract was had inflated almost $500,000 without a full Board vote. While not fully Peterson’s fault, these contracts were hidden due to CEO signing authority ($25,000 or less) and a special provision that allowed the Chair of the Foothill/Eastern Board to approve contracts over $25,000 if they were for an emergency legislative purpose.

The special Chair provision has since been repealed by the full Board, and Peterson has the subject of several lengthy closed sessions regarding his performance as CEO. This led to the eventual administrative leave and now, apparently, resignation.