SEPTA has new union chief

The newly-elected leader of SEPTA’s largest union said yesterday that SEPTA had nothing to do with his victory Friday.

“They thought they were going to win and when they didn’t they were surprised,” John Johnson Jr., a track inspector, said of outgoing President Willie Brown after defeating Brown by 300 votes out of a total of about 3,500. ”It’s not about the contract. What was missing was the connection among the membership.”

Brown blamed “outside interference,” saying SEPTA had a lot of interest in the outcome.