Former Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle Tuesday quit the board of the California High-Speed Rail Authority to devote more time to his lobbying and public relations business, the Orange County Register reported from Sacramento.
The newspaper said Pringle sent his letter of resignation to board chairman Tom Umberg, an Orange County lawyer and former assemblyman.
It will be up to Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, to appoint a replacement for Pringle, a Republican, former Assembly speaker and, until December, mayor of Anaheim.
In his letter, Pringle said:
“This project will not be successful without political leadership from the Governor. Governor Brown has yet to have an opportunity to directly appoint someone to this board. With this opening on the board, he will have the ability to appoint someone to reflect his point of view.”
Pringle’s tenure as chairman of the nine-member rail authority board included a finding by then Attorney General Jerrry Brown that Pringle should have resigned as mayor of Anaheim because that post conflicted with his role as chairman of the High-Speed Rail Authority.
As the legislative session nears an end, more pressure is being directed at Brown to declare how the controversial high-speed rail project will go forward and what oversight, if any, will be exerted on its finances and management.