TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

April/May 2005

New Chair Outlines Ambitious Agenda

Jon Rubin

After serving for two years as MTC's vice chair, Jon Rubin was elected by his fellow commissioners at their February meeting to lead the agency as chair for the next two years. The commissioners also selected former Santa Clara City Councilmember John McLemore, who represents the cities of Santa Clara County, to serve a two-year term as vice chair.

Rubin, who has more than 20 years' experience in the public relations, political and legislative processes, has represented the mayor of San Francisco on MTC since 1995. "I'm going to be an advocate for Bay Area travelers. I'll work with the state Legislature to develop an equitable plan that gets the East Span of the Bay Bridge built as fast as possible and doesn't stick tollpayers with the whole bill. Bay Area voters dug into their own pockets several times last year to pay for $8.5 billion of transportation improvements around the region. Now I'm committed to delivering those projects," he said.

Rubin serves as president and CEO of the Peninsula Coalition, a nonprofit formed by business, labor and political leaders to promote sustainable growth and economic vitality. He is a former political director of the California Democratic Party and served from 1988 to 1991 as chief of staff for then state Senator Quentin Kopp, who was chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Rubin also has served on the tricounty Caltrain Joint Powers Board and received the board's Silver Spike Award.

John McLemore

McLemore has been an MTC commissioner since February 1999. He served as a Santa Clara city councilmember from 1996 to 2004 and retired in 2004 from a 32-year career in the electronics industry in Silicon Valley. McLemore sits on the Caltrain Joint Powers Board, recently completing a two-year term as chair. He also serves on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority board of directors, the Regional Airport Planning Committee, the Dumbarton Corridor Rail Policy Committee and the Joint Policy Committee formed by MTC, the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. In addition, he serves on the boards of directors of seven nonprofit organizations, including the Santa Clara Mission City Community Fund, the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory.
— John Goodwin

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