Search title image

TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

November/December 2006

Miriam Gholikely Award:
Ernest Bradford — Passionate Advocate for Senior Drivers

Bradford
Ernest Bradford, a member of MTC’s Elderly and Disabled Advisory Committee, spearheaded the first regionwide Summit on Older Drivers. (Photo: Noah Berger)

Ernest Bradford is a quiet leader and advocate who in recent years has concentrated on bringing the plight of older drivers to the attention of MTC and other Bay Area transportation bodies. “Older drivers have equal rights to the road, so long as they can still drive safely,” Bradford stressed. “Just because senior citizens don’t always come to public meetings to raise heck, their needs and rights shouldn’t be overlooked.”

As a member of MTC’s Elderly and Disabled Advisory Committee (EDAC), Bradford urged MTC to hold the first regionwide Summit on Older Drivers. The daylong forum held last January drew nearly 100 participants and featured a skit authored by Bradford illustrating the challenge of convincing a family member that it may be time to stop driving. A video of the summit will soon be distributed to Bay Area senior and community organizations.

Now 71, Bradford became interested in transportation and joined the Solano County Paratransit Coordinating Council (PCC) in 2001 after retiring from consecutive careers in the military and public service. He chaired the PCC in 2002–2003, and at the same time joined EDAC. With both groups, he has focused on the issue of seniors and driving.

“Most people want a fair shake, and they deserve the chance to fight for that fair shake,” explained Bradford, who experienced discrimination and narrow limitations firsthand as an African-American growing up in Texas in the 1940s and ’50s. Bradford’s fair shake began when he joined the Marine Corps and “escaped” the south in 1953. Twenty-one years, two wars and numerous military awards later, he retired from the Corps and worked first for the Veterans Administration, and then for Contra Costa County in veteran services, and finally as a governor’s appointee to the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

This summer Bradford retired from his seats on both the PCC and EDAC in order to spend more time with his wife Jackie, and to continue restoring several antique cars he owns. “But,” he warned with a sparkle in his eyes, “that doesn’t mean that I’m not watching the agendas and still writing letters to the governor!”
— Karin Betts

Contents