VIDEO: Departing BART director gifts fellow board members with MAGA hats

A departing Bay Area Rapid Transit director gifted her fellow board members a surprising item as she made her final remarks in a meeting Thursday night. 

Debora Allen, director of District 1, gifted her fellow directors eight "Make America Great Again" as she spoke to the Board of Directors. 

"I wanted to depart by giving a gift to my colleagues. So what do you buy San Francisco Democrat politicians that seem to have everything they need? Well, it took a while, but I think I came up with something that you all might need over the next four years. You might not, but just in case, if things don't go well in 2026 on the ballot initiative, to get taxpayers to fill those $350 million of annual deficits. I know you don't think you'll need this, but I bought you each one of these."

In the recording of the board meeting, Allen can then be seen standing up and showing off a black MAGA hat. 

"Hopefully you'll take it in jest, and know that I know that none of you are MAGA supporters, but you may want to have some fun with this. Thank you,"

The fellow board members didn't directly comment on the gift, but there was an awkward moment afterward. 

"Oh I'm sorry, I lost my train of thought, I'm sorry," said Board President Bevan Duffy as he passed the floor to another board member. 

Allen further explained her reasoning with a post on X Thursday afternoon. 

In her closing remarks to the group, Allen started by saying how the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted BART by gutting ridership. 

Allen says the current numbers that BART is working with are dire. 

"We're spending 34% more today than we did in fiscal year 2019, and we are operating a system with less than 50% of the ridership we carried in 2019," Allen said. She went on to criticize BART for its increased spending as ridership continues to lull. 

BART is currently able to maintain service as a result of federal emergency funds that will run out in 2025. The agency says more federal funding is coming, but it will not alleviate the problem. 

By fiscal year 2026-2027, BART expects to be running on an annual deficit of more than $385 million. That number will likely grow in the years that follow. 

BART says longer wait times between trains, line closures and early station closures are all a possibility once federal funding slows. According to BART data, those changes would have a huge impact on the 31% of BART riders who are low income and may not have another mode of transportation.