Scott Haggerty Elected Chair of Metropolitan Transportation Commission

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty took over the helm of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Wednesday after the 19 voting members of the 21-member regional Commission unanimously elected him as chair for the two-year term running through February 2021. Haggerty has served for the past two years as MTC's vice chair, and has represented Alameda County on the Commission since 2000.

"When MTC is at its best, we are finding regional solutions to regional problems. I hope the entire organization — Commission and staff alike — can focus on this over the next two years," Haggerty said.  "Our regional agenda, of course, includes meeting the Bay Area's many different transportation challenges and advancing solutions to the Bay Area's housing crisis. But we also need to take an even wider view and remember that we are part of a Northern California mega-region.

"We will need to look at not just how we can solve problems that cut across the borders of our 101 cities, or cross the borders of our nine counties. We also need to work as partners with our neighbors in the San Joaquin Valley, in the Sacramento Valley and other areas to the north and south." 

Haggerty was first elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 1996. Haggerty previously served MTC chair from 2009 to 2011. In addition to his longtime service at MTC, Haggerty is a member and former chair of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority. Haggerty represents Alameda County on the National Association of Counties, and also serves as a member of the Alameda County Transportation Commission, San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission, Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority and Tri-Valley Transportation Council.

Haggerty replaces Rohnert Park City Councilman Jake Mackenzie as Commission Chairman.

Commissioners also elected Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza to serve as MTC's vice chair for the next two years. Pedroza was first appointed as a supervisor by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015, then he was elected in 2016. He was appointed to the MTC in 2017.

"I am grateful to serve the Bay Area and our local communities during a critical time when striking the right balance between regional and local action is key," Pedroza said. "We need to continue to invest in our regional transportation networks to improve quality of life, especially as housing shortages continue to put pressure on our infrastructure."

Pedroza is active with service clubs and nonprofit organizations. He is a graduate of Sonoma State University, from where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a minor in Economics.

Three of MTC's seats changed hands earlier this month, with San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen replacing Jane Kim as the representative of the City and County of San Francisco; Millbrae City Councilwoman Gina Papan replacing Redwood City Councilwoman Alicia Aguirre as the representative of San Mateo County cities; and Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt replacing Julie Pierce as the representative of the Association of Bay Area Governments.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission