San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was unanimously elected as the San Diego Association of Governments' vice-chair Friday by its Board of Directors, where he will serve alongside Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear, who was unanimously elected chair in December.
"It is an honor to serve alongside Mayor Blakespear, and I am committed to working with my fellow SANDAG board members to develop a transportation blueprint for our region that is equitable, sustainable and will improve the everyday lives of millions of people," Gloria said. "Together, we will implement a plan that will create jobs, fund and build projects to support our climate and housing goals and provide more viable mobility options for all of us."
Gloria and Blakespear take the reins as SANDAG develops the 2021 Regional Plan to be adopted at the end of this year, which could reimagine the way people and goods will move through the San Diego region in the future. The new extension of the UC San Diego Blue Line Trolley will also open later this year.
Next year, SANDAG will begin implementing the 2021 Regional Plan and will work with regional, state and federal leaders and work to identify funding opportunities.
"It is a new day at SANDAG," Blakespear said. "I look forward to working alongside Vice Chair Gloria. Together, I believe we can move forward a transportation vision for our region that is equitable, sustainable and improves the quality of life of our communities for generations to come."
Gloria previously served on the SANDAG Board of Directors from 2013 to 2016 and led the transportation committee as chair.
National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis nominated Gloria for the position.
"Todd has that leadership ability of bringing people across the aisle and I know that Mayor Gloria will work side by side with our existing team to engage our organization and lead it to the next level," she said.
In addition to the election of the vice-chair, the board also discussed the option to reinstate the second vice chair position as a SANDAG Board Officer. This change requires an amendment to the SANDAG bylaws which will be considered at a February meeting.
SANDAG is the San Diego region's primary public planning, transportation and research agency, providing the public forum for regional policy decisions about growth, transportation planning and construction, environmental management, housing, open space, energy, public safety and binational topics.
It is governed by a Board of Directors composed of mayors, council members and supervisors from each of the region's 18 cities and the county government.
