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Three compete for RVTD Position 7 Jim Herndon, left, Damian Bugg, Kevin Keating, Dan Davis Thursday May 4, 2017 at 5:18 PM May 4, 2017 at 6:36 PM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune The race for Rogue Valley Transportation District Position 7 has drawn a trio of newcomers eager to take a seat at the table. Damian Bugg, 41, a talent development specialist for WorkSource Rogue Valley, said he wants to ensure the already well-run district continues to thrive. Medford teacher Kevin Keating, 52, said his years of experience on boards and committees, and an appreciation and familiarity with public transit, would give him perspective as a board member. Medford resident Jim Herndon said he would bring military, police and trucking experience to the seat, adding he wants to provide more of a voice for veterans and senior citizens. Bugg, of Central Point, said his work with underprivileged and disabled people would give him a unique vantage point. Bugg boasts volunteer experience in grant coordination for out-of-school youth under the Workforce Innovations and Opportunities Act. "I have a lot of experience in both the for-profit industry and in nonprofit social work and would be effective at prioritizing transit needs while being fiscally responsible," said Bugg. If elected, Bugg said his focus would be on improving and expanding local transit to strengthen the local economy — getting workers to jobs and students to school — and ensuring the district's most vulnerable patrons were adequately served. "That was one of the things that got me really into looking into what can be done for transit-challenged individuals in this area. I've visited bigger cities and loved using trains or other forms of transit. In bigger cities, you don't have to get rental cars or deal with parking. You just hop on a bus or a train," he said. "I would like to find a way to do some outreach to normalize public transit for our region. It's better for air quality, helps our economy and it gives people a better quality of life overall." Keating said he'd like to see more people using public transportation. "I've traveled public transit my whole life — buses and trains," Keating said. "I think the transit industry suffers from the same problems as a lot of other entities — money is drying up and they keep going back to taxpayers for more. I'd like to see some creative problem solving, and I'd like to get more of our average citizens using public transit. "I took the bus recently, and I walked a mile to the station from my house, waited for 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there. It seems all you've got in this town is to go downtown before you can get to Jacksonville. ... By the time I got to Jacksonville, the other bus had left. I just have the feeling it's a little bit hard to use, and most people don't have the time to try and figure it out. I think it needs to be more user-friendly for the average person." Herndon sees veterans and seniors as two of his priorities. "I figure if I can get on the board, I can work toward helping the veterans and the senior citizens with their transportation needs," Herndon said. "The bus company needs to think more about our senior citizens and our vets and what their needs are. We have a lot of buses running around here that are empty. "Not only do we need to work toward filling up the buses that are being paid for, but I'd like to see if we can't increase efficiency a little bit. Some of the older buses need changed out, because you get to a point where maintenance is more expensive than buying new. I think I've got a unique perspective after over 71 years on this planet. "We don't need a public transportation system like they have in New York — and I wouldn't want us to — but maybe we can fill our buses up and get them to be more efficient and more user-friendly." In the race for RVTD Position 6, incumbent Dan Davis of Talent is unopposed. — Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. Email her at [email protected].