A recent shuffling of seats on the Valley Transportation
Authority Board outlines why now is the time for directly elected
representatives.
1. Seat shuffle outlines need
A recent shuffling of seats on the Valley Transportation Authority Board outlines why now is the time for directly elected representatives.
The VTA board consists of 12 members, divided into five groups based on city boundaries within Santa Clara County. Since the VTA was formed in 1995, the members of each group have rotated their representatives to serve as full-time board members and alternates for two-year terms.
But after Morgan Hill City Councilman Greg Sellers and Gilroy City Councilman Perry Woodward voted earlier this month to switch up the usual rotation for the board seat they share with the city of Milpitas, that city’s mayor called the move “unprecedented” and labeled it an effort to “disenfranchise” the people of Milpitas for the sake of South County’s political gain.
The groups also meet separately from the full board, usually once a month, and at this month’s meeting of the local group, known as “Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Milpitas,” or “MGM,” only two of the three members – Sellers and Woodward – were present. The South County pair appointed Woodward as the alternate board member for 2009, even though based on the pattern of rotation followed by group members for more than a decade, it would have been Milpitas’ year to hold the alternate’s seat, according to VTA officials.
2. Time for a change
The traditional schedule has a representative from Milpitas, likely Mayor Robert Livengood, taking over that seat, but now none of the three MGM members know who will sit on the board, due to recent rule changes and the vote by Sellers and Woodward.
And that’s an issue that Sellers said he is working to clear up before the end of this year. He noted that the past rotation schedule is no longer binding in selecting board members. In April 2008, the VTA board voted to eliminate the rotation process, the first of a series of steps Sellers said are needed to ensure all three cities are always adequately represented.
He said under the rotation process, Milpitas was represented only every third term, and South County was represented two out of three terms.
“That’s not fair for Milpitas, and it’s not fair for South County,” Sellers told reporter Michael Moore, noting that both South County and Milpitas should always have a representative on the board.
3. One man, one vote
All the maneuvering leaves voters wondering if, when and how they are represented on the board. Since all 12 members are elected officials from Santa Clara County cities, it appears they are representatives of the government agencies to which they are elected, not the people. What is needed are directly elected representatives, say five, from logically drawn boundaries that do not duplicate those drawn by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. The VTA has a $363 million budget with about 2,100 employees, numbers that should never leave anyone unrepresented. It’s time to return to the one man, one vote concept.
