Palmdale legislator proposes change to balance on MTA board to give more weight to north county.

Legislation Aimed At Boosting Representation On MTA Board - Hometown Station KHTS AM-1220

Legislation Aimed At Boosting Representation On MTA Board Print E-mail
Written by Carol Rock
Thursday, 19 March 2009

Palmdale legislator proposes change to balance on MTA board to give more weight to north county.


A legislative attempt to get more representation for the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board is working its way through Sacramento, despite opposition from Los Angeles City that is gaining momentum.



Newly-elected Assemblyman Steve Knight of Palmdale has proposed AB251, which would ensure that one seat be rotated specifically between Palmdale, Lancaster and Santa Clarita.



Currently, the board includes four representatives from Los Angeles; the mayor, one councilperson and two appointees; all of the County Supervisors, who represent the unincorporated areas, four members appointed from other cities in the county (there are 88 incorporated cities), and one non-voting member appointed by the Governor.



The 88 cities are divided into four different regions, with Santa Clarita, Palmdale and Lancaster included in the north county region along with 10 other cities. Former Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts served on the group until he left office two years ago, when he was replaced by Ara Najarian from the city of Glendale. Najarian was just re-elected by the 13-city coalition to a four-year term.



Santa Clarita’s Government Relations spokesperson Mike Murphy said that the city has not taken an official stand yet, but are planning to meet with Knight’s office to learn more about the bill.



“We need to research the dynamics,” Murphy said.



If approved as presented, the bill would take the three north county cities out of the larger four-sector mix and create a new sector. Murphy says that might not sit well with the other cities left behind. He also had questions about the voting mechanism for the new sector.



One thing that didn’t surprise him was the anticipated opposition to the bill from the City of Los Angeles. That city’s Council is expected to vote to oppose the legislation in today’s meeting. As written, the extra seat created for north county would be taken from the three allocated to the city of Los Angeles.



“If I were in their shoes, I’d be taking a dim view of the proposal,” he said.



Santa Clarita Councilwoman Marsha McLean was excited about the proposal. An unabashed public transportation advocate, she has attended many MTA meetings to learn more about plans and provide input.



“Our representatives do a good job representing us, but they have a difficult time helping the north county achieve the same amount of dollars and projects warranted by our rapidly growing population,” she said. “The time has come to add another voice to represent us.”