Seemingly not good news. The best spin would be that he felt boxed in by Wheeler and wanted more control.
Not good news but not bad and I don't understand the "spin" comment. Wheeler is clearly the man in charge at MNTA and Brugger was the #2. I find no fault in a COO who takes a job as a CEO elsewhere and it doesn't reflect whatsoever on the company. He had an opportunity and he took it.