Kopp leaves California HSR authority

Quentin Kopp, who introduced legislation in 1996 creating the California High-Speed Rail Authority, said Monday he is stepping down from his director’s position on the authority. Kopp’s term expired last December and he asked California State Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg not to reappoint him to the nine-member board.

Kopp has been influential in advancing not just high speed rail in California but numerous rail systems and modes throughout the Golden State for decades.

Kopp is objecting to how the authority recently has spent some of its money, particularly in the public relations arena. In a letter to authority CEO Roelof van Ark, he urged the authority to terminate a $9 million contract with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.

“Since Ogilvy’s engagement in February 2010, its inadequate performance can be measured, by among other things, the worsening legislative, media, academic and popular comments in the public domain about our project,” Kopp wrote in the letter to van Ark.