DART board names Gene Gamez interim president and CEO

As the search continues for DART's next permanent president and CEO, the agency's board on Friday named an interim leader: Gene Gamez.

Gamez has been a DART employee for nearly three decades.

"He's led our general council department for nearly 10 years," DART Board of Directors Chairman Randall Bryant said. "Gene comes with a lot of experience with complex issues. There's a lot of legal parts that go into his job. So, when we look at the total duties that will be assigned to our interim for a short period of time, he was the best person."

Tonight's announcement comes after Nadine Lee recently said she would not extend her contract with DART. The board terminated her contract effective immediately.

Leadership shift amid regional uncertainty

The leadership change arrives as Addison, Highland Park, and University Park all have measures on the May ballot that could allow them to leave DART.

With the World Cup about two months away, DART leaders were asked whether they have concerns about the surge of visitors expected to rely on the system.

"No.. and if you've seen earlier today, we released our new vehicles that add capacity to the TRE system," Bryant said. "The plan itself is building out additional capacity, additional frequencies, and of course, there are charter buses, and the private additional support as well."

DART leaders say they're prepared for the influx of riders the global event will bring.