Fresh Faces Join MTC as New Four-Year Term Begins

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The governing Commission of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) started a new four-year term this week and welcomed three new or recently added commissioners: newly elected Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who has assumed the slot on the Commission assigned to an appointee of the mayor of Oakland; Jason Baker, a councilmember from the city of Campbell who is representing the cities of Santa Clara County on the Commission; and Julie Pierce, a councilmember from the city of Clayton who is representing the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) on MTC.

The new Commission convened its first meeting today, with the objective of making committee assignments and appointing an ad-hoc committee to nominate a chair and vice chair to lead the body for the next two years.

In addition to Schaaf, there is another big-city Bay Area mayor at the MTC table: Sam Liccardo, who was recently elected mayor of San Jose and is holding the seat set aside for an appointee of the mayor of San Jose. Liccardo first joined the Commission in 2011 as a San Jose city councilman, representing the cities of Santa Clara County. He shifted to the San Jose mayor's appointee position in 2013, and has opted to continue in this role now that he is in the mayor's seat. This development means that for the first time ever, the mayors of two of the region's three largest cities hold seats on the 21-member Commission.

"The fact that the mayors of San Jose and Oakland are making the time commitment to serve on MTC speaks to the important work we are doing," said MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger.

The three new members bring impressive public service credentials to their roles on MTC. Pierce is the president of ABAG's Executive Committee, and has been a member of the Clayton City Council as well as the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) since 1992, serving five times as mayor, and twice as chair of CCTA. She is also president of the California Council of Governments, among other posts.

Baker joined MTC in late 2014, toward the end of the last Commission term. He was elected to the Campbell City Council in November 2008, currently is vice mayor and served as the city's mayor for 2011. He is active on a number of regional boards and commissions, particularly in the areas of transportation, public safety and emergency preparedness.

Schaaf served on the Oakland City Council for four years before winning the mayor's race in November 2014. She brings to her MTC assignment 16 years of experience in local government, having served as the economic policy adviser to the Oakland City Council; public affairs director for the Port of Oakland, where she helped secure $400 million for infrastructure supporting goods movement; a top aide to Jerry Brown when he was mayor of Oakland; and chief of staff to former City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. While in city government, she was instrumental in fostering transit-oriented development around the Fruitvale BART station.

A large majority of the last term's commissioners are returning for the new MTC Commission term. In addition to Liccardo and Baker, they are:

• Amy Rein Worth, a councilmember from the city of Orinda who represents the cities of Contra Costa County and is finishing up a two-year term as chair of MTC;
• Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, who is finishing up a two-year term as vice chair of MTC and represents Santa Clara County;
• Redwood City Councilmember Alicia C. Aguirre, representing the cities of San Mateo County;
• Tom Azumbrado, representing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development;
• Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, representing the cities of Alameda County;
• San Francisco Supervisor David Campos, representing the city and county of San Francisco;
• Dorene M. Giacopini, representing the U.S. Department of Transportation;
• Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal D. Glover, representing Contra Costa County;
• Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Scott Haggerty, representing the county of Alameda;
• Anne W. Halsted, representing the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission;
• Marin County Board of Supervisors Vice President Steve Kinsey, representing the county of Marin;
• Napa County Supervisor Mark Luce, representing the county of Napa;
• Rohnert Park Councilmember Jake Mackenzie, representing Sonoma County and its cities;
• Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi, representing the California State Transportation Agency;
• Solano County Supervisor James P. Spering, representing Solano County and its cities;
• San Mateo County Supervisor Adrienne J. Tissier, representing the county of San Mateo; and
• San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener, continuing in his role as the San Francisco mayor's appointee.

Of the 21 commissioners, the three representing state and federal agencies are nonvoting (Sartipi, Giacopini and Azumbrado).

New MTC officers will be elected at the regular Commission meeting on February 25, 2015.

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 (MTC)