More than 30 elected officials from across the East Bay are pressing AC Transit's board to formally censure one of its own members, Joel Young, after an outside investigation found he violated the bus agency's gender-based harassment policy, Berkeleyside reported.
The public letter, dated Oct. 5 and signed by 33 officials, asks the board to remove Young from his committee and agency appointments. That includes his seat on the 22-member Alameda County Transportation Commission, which helps distribute money to transit agencies in the county and sets long-range transit priorities. Signers include Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii, Berkeley councilmembers Brent Blackaby, Mark Humbert and Cecilia Lunaparra, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, El Cerrito's mayor, and members of Berkeley's rent board and school board.
What the investigation found
An investigation by the Oakland law firm Meyers Nave concluded that Young, an at-large director, subjected fellow director Sarah Syed to unwanted physical contact during a break in a board meeting in September 2025. Video released by AC Transit shows Young putting his arms around her. Director Jean Walsh, who said she saw it happen, told Berkeleyside it was "inappropriate and kind of creepy."
In a statement last month, Young said he had been trying to offer comfort during a remembrance for the late director Christian Peeples, and that he respected that Syed's experience differed from what he intended. He did not immediately respond to Berkeleyside's latest request for comment.
The letter also describes what it calls a pattern of misconduct over Young's career, citing a 2011 domestic violence accusation, a 2012 police report by a former Oakland council aide who said Young threatened and spat at him, and a 2013 censure by the AC Transit board for ethics violations.
Why the letter came now
El Cerrito Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Saltzman, a former BART director who organized the effort, said it followed a statement last week from four AC Transit directors, including board president Diane Shaw, backing Young and suggesting no further action was planned. Saltzman called censure an uncomfortable but common step when an official's conduct isn't condoned by their agency.
The dispute is also playing out at the ballot box. After redistricting, Young is running for the Ward 3 seat covering parts of central and north Oakland against Adriana Valencia, who won the Alameda County Democratic Party's endorsement. Separately, the American Public Transportation Association said Young withdrew his candidacy to become chair of its board over the weekend.
Berkeleyside said AC Transit and the directors who backed Young had not responded to requests for comment by press time.