Golden Gate Bridge Community Loses Great Leader

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (District) lost a true treasure when veteran member of the Board of Directors, Robert McDonnell, died of a heart attack on Sunday, August 17, 2003, while visiting Sweden. Since being appointed to the District Board of Directors in June 1982, McDonnell’s enthusiasm for serving as a policy maker dedicated to making the District a great public agency for both employees and customers alike never wavered.

As the District’s General Manager Celia Kupersmith stated, "Bob McDonnell was an excellent Board member who provided strong leadership throughout his 21 years at the District. He was a true friend of every employee and his historical knowledge and intellectual grasp of the many details that make up the District will be sorely missed."

Board President Stanley Smith added, "I’ve known McDonnell for 38 years and he was a true life-long friend. His personal integrity was beyond reproach and his institutional memory of the District never ceased to amaze me. He remembered every decision taken by the Board; I think he really was an historian. He loved working for the people, for good jobs and wages. He will be missed by many throughout the Bridge District family and the City of San Francisco."

McDonnell served 21 years as a public representative and one of nine of nineteen members representing the City and County of San Francisco. He was President of the Board of Directors from January 1995 through December 1996 and has been the Chair of the Building and Operating Committee since1997. During his long tenure, he was also active in several other standing committees of the Board of Directors including the Transportation, Finance-Auditing, and Rules, Policy, and Industrial Relations committees.

In addition, McDonnell served as a member of several of the Board of Director’s Advisory Committees including Labor Relations, Bridge Seismic Retrofit, and Review of Officers of the District. He was also one of three Board members serving on the Golden Gate Transit Amalgamated Union Retirement Pension Board.

McDonnell has been active in labor issues over the years through his employment with Laborer’s Local 261 and his membership on the San Francisco Executive Labor Council and San Francisco Building Trades Council. He was also a member of the United Irish Cultural Center, Godfathers of St. Vincent’s, and Amigos of Central Latino.

Born June 21, 1939 in San Francisco, McDonnell attended Marin Catholic High School and received his AA from the College of Marin. He was employed as a gardener for the City and County of San Francisco from December 1967 to June 1978. He then became the Business Agent for the Laborer’s International Union of North America, AFL-CIO, Local 261 until his retirement in 1999.