Over the weekend, MTA Vice Chairman David Mack stepped down from the MTA Board, ending a tenure that began in 1993. The cause is unrelated to Mack’s duties as a transit board member; Gov. Paterson asked him to step down after Mack refused to cooperate with an investigation into the State Police, where he held an unsalaried post. (Mack also lost a spot on the Port Authority board.) But this isn’t the first time Mack, a Long Island real estate developer, has embarrassed the agencies he served.

Last year, before the MTA board voted to give up customary perks like free transit passes, Mack vocally defended the freebies. Mack told reporters that if his pass was taken away, he would have less reason to ride the LIRR, which he did 5 to 10 times a year. “Why should I ride and inconvenience myself when I can ride in a car?” he said. He also suggested that complaints to MTA employees from “the normal public” went in the garbage, while those from board members were taken seriously. Mack’s comments made headlines throughout the region at a time when the MTA was trying to build public support for new sources of transit revenue.

Mack served at the recommendation of the Nassau County Executive, so it will be up to current executive Tom Suozzi to pick a replacement. The transit rescue package passed by the legislature this year requires that new MTA board members have experience in areas related to the agency’s mission, like transit or labor relations. Suozzi should go further and recommend someone who will be a good ambassador for the system.