REGION — The SANDAG Board of Directors unanimously elected San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts as its new chair and Del Mar Deputy Mayor Terry Sinnott as vice chair, according to a press release from SANDAG.
Roberts, a former planning commissioner and two-term councilmember for the city of San Diego, has represented the county’s fourth district since 1994. He formerly served as vice chair of the SANDAG board and he will be the first county supervisor ever to serve as chair when he takes up his new post in January.
“Supervisor Roberts has been a central figure in the expansion and modernization of the region’s transit system,” outgoing chair and Santee councilmember Jack Dale said. “Major transportation initiatives he has championed include the conversion of the MTS bus fleet to natural-gas powered buses; adoption of a new Rapid transit network; and the extension of the Green Line to the San Diego State University campus.”
Roberts has led the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project Working Group since its inception in 2009, spearheading community relations in the region’s effort to extend the Trolley Blue Line from Downtown San Diego to the University of California, San Diego and the University City community. The project has achieved both state and federal environmental clearance, and preliminary construction activities are underway.
“I am honored to have been chosen by the leaders of the San Diego region to serve as chair of this important organization,” Roberts said. “We have a lot ahead of us in the coming year and beyond — including construction of the Mid-Coast Trolley extension and work to secure a new funding source for our region’s transit future. I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues and continuing the SANDAG tradition of getting things done.”
Roberts was first appointed to the SANDAG Board in January 2002. Prior to being a city councilmember, he worked for 20 years as an architect, spending most of his time as managing partner of a San Diego-based firm.
Sinnott has been a Del Mar resident since 1976 and a former U.S. Naval officer who served in Vietnam. Following his military service, he worked for 22 years at San Diego Gas & Electric in a variety of roles, including industrial engineering, marketing, distribution planning and customer service.
Sinnott, a Del Mar City Council member since 2010, has served on the SANDAG Board since January 2011.
The SANDAG Board of Directors leadership positions are filled by the board annually.
