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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017/06/13 - Item 10 - Written Communications0 SAEI DIEGO REGIONAL &KEW'M ALLIANCE MEMBER June 13, 2017 i i -e -M 10 Wr(*jA CQmvn. Re: Bike Walk Chula Vista support for AB 805 to improve representation and accountability at SANDAG Dear Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers of Chula Vista, Bike Walk Chula Vista is writing to express our support for Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher's AB 805 to improve- representation - for _ Chula_Vista,.and_to increase .accountability.and-transparency at-SANDAG, as.well_as_ granting MTS authorization to pursue their own funding measure. At_our most recently quarterly meeting on May 31, 2017 we voted 8-0 (with 3 abstentions) to support AB 805. We believe AB 805 is a unique opportunity to reform the board structure of SANDAG — our regional transportation planning agency -- in a way that allows for more fair representation of Chula Vista's voters. AB 805 will allow a weighted vote based on cities' populations to override the tally vote. This will ensure that Chula Vista's more than a quarter million residents will be more fairly represented at the decision making table. We believe that this advances the principles of democracy. AB 805 also designates the Mayors of the region's largest and second-largest cities to alternate'as the Chair and Vice Chair of SANDAG every four years. This important bill also creates an independent Audit Committee which will increase accountability and transparency at SANDAG. Furthermore, AB 805 empowers MTS with the ability to pursue their own funding measure. Through this bill, Chula Vista will have a second seat created at the MTS Board which will help change the conversation at MTS in a way that lifts up our voices here in South Bay. We at Bike Walk Chula Vista see this as a vital priority within our region, and hope that the City of Chula Vista is also in favor of such a measure to strengthen accountability and fairness at SANDAG. Bike Walk Chula Vista is pleased to fully endorse AB 805 and urge the City Council to support as well. Sincerely, Bike Walk Chula Vista members present at May 31, 2017 meeting: Randy Van Vleck Skii Fleeton Michelle Luellen Armando Ibarra Carolina Rodriguez-Adjunta Ron Guitard ; Matt Lowery