Business

SMART Ride

;MOM, .. • .....

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Richard Kaufman has been on
board for three years.

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A former Wayne County
judge has been
on the ride of his life
at the regional
transportation service.

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Special to The Jewish News

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rom his downtown office on
the ninth floor of the First
National Building, Richard
Kaufman admits to being
"focused like a laser beam on Aug. 4."
Since climbing aboard as general
manager/general counsel of Suburban
Mobility Authority for Regional
Transportation (SMART), Kaufman
has spent the last two years meeting
the three promises of the 1995 millage
campaign that have yielded record rid-
ership.
The bus route system of the 1960s
was redesigned and expanded for the
first time to include main arteries like
Telegraph and Maple roads; more
routes in the tri-county area are sched-
uled to open in March and June. The

small bus partnership with 40 com-
munities put meaning into communi-
ty transit by providing indispensable
rides for seniors and the physically
challenged. And SMART's deficit
dropped from $20 million to $7.1
million.
The newest challenge confronting
Kaufman now lies in convincing resi-
dents of Oakland, Macomb and
Wayne counties to vote for the prop-
erty millage renewal in August that
will determine the fate of the multi-
million-dollar transit system.
"Our slogan is, 'Ten million ride,
no new taxes,"' Kaufman said. "I'm
doing everything in my power to get
the word out there on how SMART
not only met, but exceeded its promis-
es. We've earned the right to have
another lease on life."
It was the challenge of taking
SMART to new heights that lured
C- = --\ /
Kaufman from the Wayne County
Circuit Court, where he served seven
years as a trial judge and eight as chief
judge. During that time, the reputa-
tion of Wayne County's court system
went from "most inefficient" to "best
in the country."
"My greatest contribution was to be