Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Regional Transportation Agency Names New Chair and Vice Chair, and Welcomes New Board Members

Contact:

Sharon Brown, MTC Chair
510.869.5098

Brenda Kahn, MTC Senior Public Information Officer
510.817.5773
bkahn@mtc.ca.gov

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 28, 2001...Sharon J. Brown, councilmember for the city of San Pablo, was named the 15th chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) at the agency's regular monthly meeting today. Elected to serve as vice chair was Marin County Supervisor Steve Kinsey. In addition, five new commissioners have been appointed to finish the remainder of the 1999-2003 term on the policy body of the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area's transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency. (The confirmation of a sixth commissioner, whose appointment will bring the Commission to its full contingent of 19 members, is expected in March.) The six are:

• Bill Dodd, Napa County supervisor, representing the county and its cities;
• Scott Haggerty, Alameda County supervisor, representing the county;
• Barbara Kaufman, former San Francisco supervisor, representing the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC);
• Michael Nevin, San Mateo County supervisor, representing the county;
• Pamela Torliatt, Petaluma city councilmember, representing the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG); and
• Tom Ammiano, San Francisco supervisor, representing the city and county.

"I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Commission to help tackle some of the region's tough transportation challenges," MTC's new chair, Sharon Brown, said. "At the top of MTC's list for the next two years will be introducing the TransLink® universal transit ticket this summer, updating our long-range Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) this fall, and preparing for congressional reauthorization of the federal transportation program in 2003."

Brown was appointed to MTC in 1993 to represent the cities of Contra Costa County, and had been Commission vice chair since 1999. She has served as mayor of San Pablo, as chair of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and as director of the San Pablo Chamber of Commerce, and is the past president of the national Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

Commissioner Steve Kinsey, representing Marin County and its cities, was appointed to MTC in December 1997. He serves on the boards of numerous Marin County government agencies, including the Congestion Management Agency, the Housing Authority, the Redevelopment Agency, the Open Space District and the Transit District.

Brown and Kinsey will each serve two-year terms at MTC's helm.

Commissioner Bill Dodd, also appointed to MTC in February, replaces Supervisor Kathryn Winter. Dodd serves on the county's Flood Control and Water Conservation District and Transportation Planning Agency, as well as ABAG and the Napa Valley Housing Authority.

Commissioner Scott Haggerty was appointed to MTC in January, replacing Supervisor Mary King, who did not seek re-election to her county post. Haggerty was first elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 1996 and is its current president. He is the chair of the Alameda County Transportation/Planning Committee, member of the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) Joint Powers Authority, the Alameda County Transportation Authority, the Livermore-Amador Valley Transit Authority, the Alameda County Congestion Management Agency and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).

Commissioner Barbara Kaufman was appointed to MTC in February, replacing Angelo J. Siracusa who had served as BCDC's MTC representative for over 14 years. Recently appointed to BCDC by the governor, Kaufman is that body's current chair. A former member and president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, she was a founding director of the KCBS Radio "Call for Action," a consumer advocacy program.

Commissioner Michael Nevin also was appointed to the Commission in February, replacing Supervisor Mary Griffin, who did not run for re-election as supervisor. Nevin was elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors in 1992 and currently serves as its president. He is a member of the board of BAAQMD and the National Association of Counties, and a board member and past president or chair of the California State Association of Counties, the Caltrain Joint Powers Board, and the San Mateo County Transit District.

Commissioner Pamela Torliatt will begin her tenure March 1, replacing Charlotte Powers, San Jose city councilmember, as ABAG's representative on the Commission. Torliatt was elected to the Petaluma city council in November 1996, and served as vice mayor last year. She is a board member of BAAQMD, the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, an alternate on ABAG's Regional Planning Committee, and member of the Mayor's and Councilmembers' Association.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano is expected to be appointed to MTC in March, replacing San Francisco Supervisor Sue Bierman. Current president of the Board of Supervisors, Ammiano also is chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and a member of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District board. He sits on the city's Public Utilities and Deregulation Committee and is a past president of the board of the San Francisco Unified School District.

###

Previous | Contents | Next