Blog note: This article refers to several grand jury reports
San Jose councilmembers are pushing against a new state bill that would keep them off the county’s transit board.
AB
1091, introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman,
would prohibit elected officials from serving on the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (VTA) board. Instead, cities can appoint expert
residents to represent their communities. San Jose would also see its
representation on the board shrink.
Berman
said changing VTA’s board structure will improve its governance. Even before
the pandemic, VTA grappled with drops in ridership and a budget deficit.
“Three Civil Grand Jury Reports over the
last seventeen years have identified the governance structure of VTA as a root
cause of the agency’s poor performance,” Berman told San José Spotlight.
“Transit riders, taxpayers and VTA staff deserve a board of directors that have
the interest and ability to dedicate the time necessary to provide appropriate
oversight and meet our region’s complex transportation needs.”
But
city officials say cutting the number of San Jose board members is an issue of
equity, especially since San Jose is the majority of ridership on VTA’s transit
arm.
According
to Ramses Madou with the San Jose department of transportation, almost 70% of
riders in the county who board busses and light rails begin their journey in
San Jose. Typically, these riders are disabled or cannot afford to travel by
car, he said.
If
the bill passes, each city would only get two board seats — non-elected
officials appointed by the mayor — leaving San Jose with three fewer voting
representatives than it has now.
“We
see this (bill) as taking away the voice, the perspective and the
representation of the most disadvantaged folks in the county and the folks who
are actually using the transit system,” Madou said.
Under
the proposed bill, each of the five county Board of Supervisors members would
appoint a member. Supervisors could appoint more representatives from San Jose,
but this is not guaranteed.
The
Rules and Open Government Committee discussed flaws with Assembly Bill 1091 on
March 17.
On
Wednesday, a council committee that sets agendas for the City Council voted
unanimously to ask the San Jose City Council to oppose the bill. The committee
includes Vice Mayor Chappie Jones, Councilmembers Raul Peralez, Sylvia Arenas,
David Cohen and Dev Davis.
The
full council take up the issue on March 23.
Changing VTA’s governing
board
After
years of being bashed by the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury for its
governance, VTA hired an outside consultant to suggest ways to improve its
18-member board. The board contains 12 voting members and six alternates. Five
of the 12 current voting members represent San Jose.
In
December, the consultant made recommendations — which include adopting
four-year board terms and eliminating alternate members — to the VTA’s Ad Hoc
Board Enhancement Committee.
The
committee debated the consultant’s suggestions Jan. 17. County supervisor Cindy
Chavez said strong discussion about the board’s makeup arises every year
because San Jose has “too much power,” which leaves smaller cities feeling left
out of decision making.
Kicking out elected
officials
Madou
said barring elected officials from board positions may not be the right
approach to fixing the problems. Elected officials can better connect transit
issues with local policies than a resident not entrenched in the lawmaking
process, he said. Madou added that residents have opportunities to voice their
opinions through various VTA advisory committees.
Local
transit advocate Monica Mallon said the agency should be more responsive to the
community and riders, but she’s not sure a fully elected-official board or
fully citizen board is the answer.
“I
would be interested in the exploration of a mixed board with both elected
officials and citizens,” Mallon said. “I think there is value in having elected
officials on the board because of their direct connection to city and county
government.”
Peralez
strongly opposes the bill, adding Berman did not collaborate with San Jose.
“I
think we need to send a strong message of opposition,” Peralez said. “This is
not at all something that I think this city should be considering.”
Peralez
said further conversation is needed to improve VTA governance. For example,
Peralez said the city could talk with VTA about electing board members in the
same way BART does.
Cohen,
on the other hand, is still deciding.
“I’m
a little bit unsure yet on opposing the bill because I’m not convinced that the
current method of running the VTA board is working,” he said, noting that
elected officials have to juggle other responsibilities. He said perhaps San
Jose could propose ways to amend the bill.
Berman
remains hopeful that the bill will create a more effective VTA board by July
2022.
“I
would hope that this would be something that everyone — even current VTA board
members that might have to give up a little personal political power in
exchange for better governance — could agree with,” Berman said. “I look
forward to engaging with the city of San Jose and Mayor (Sam) Liccardo on AB
1091 as we work towards our shared goal of improving public transportation in
Santa Clara.”
San
Jose Spotlight
Carly Wipf
March 18, 2021
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