For the first time, and after a circuitous route that went all the way to Sacramento, the cities of Goleta and Carpinteria have seats on the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District board of directors.
Authorization for the cities’ representation on the now seven-member MTD board is the result of legislation carried by Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara. The legislation, AB 61, was approved and enacted last year so MTD could better represent the South Coast region it has been serving.
Representing Goleta is City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Roger Aceves. A retired Santa Barbara police officer, Aceves also serves on the board of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
Representing Carpinteria is Chuck McQuary, a retired transit planning consultant and finance manager. He is a former member of the Carpinteria Planning Commission and is a Carpinteria Rotarian.
Santa Barbara, meanwhile, filled its vacant board position with the appointment of Sharon Anderson, client services manager at Anderson Financial Solutions & Insurance Services and a parent care specialist. Anderson is the former president of the National Association of Financial and Insurance Advisors, Santa Barbara Chapter, and is currently serving on the state government relations committee.
MTD provides almost 25,000 passenger trips each weekday and accounted for 7.6 million passenger trips in 2007. Nationally recognized as a leader in the public transit industry, MTD is ranked among the top 10 for per-capita transit usage and operates the country’s largest fleet of battery electric vehicles.