How about electing MTA board members?Polanco bill provides for direct election of directors State Sen. Richard Polanco Richard G. Polanco, is a former California State Senate Majority leader and member of the California State Assembly. He is known for his significant efforts in increasing Latino representation in the California Legislature. , D-Los Angeles, has introduced legislation to make the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Board of Directors an elected board. Under Senate Bill 1152, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district, the current members as of April 2006 are:
(2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. districts, and two board members would be elected from each district, for a total of 14. The first election would be in June of 1998. The MTA is building the biggest public works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. project in history and awards numerous multimillion-dollar contracts on a regular basis. A member of Polanco's staff said the senator is concerned that the MTA board should be more accountable to the public, and that the public should be allowed to vote for the board members based on their backgrounds and priorities in transportation. The MTA is the subject of constant criticism, especially in the area of damages to private property caused by the Metro Rail subway subway: see rapid transit. subway Underground railway system used to transport passengers within urban and suburban areas. The first subway line, 3. tunnel project. Currently, MTA board members are elected city or county officials and their appointees, but the elected members were elected to other offices, such as the Board of Supervisors and city councils. The bill is scheduled to go before the Senate Transportation Committee on April 4. MTA opposes bill Last week, the sitting MTA board voted to oppose the legislation - a position that was recommended by MTA staff. An MTA staff report said the MTA opposes the bill for these reasons: * City governments are not included in the process for establishing the election districts, and there are no guarantees that city governments would have a continued role in Setting transportation policy. * There are no rules included in the bill on the acceptance of campaign contributions. (Currently, members of the MTA board's construction committee are precluded from accepting contributions from contractors, and there are separate rules regarding conflict-of-interest that preclude board members from voting on certain contracts.) * There are no provisions regarding whether the board members will be paid. A member of Polanco's staff said all these concerns will be addressed in committee and the bill may be amended. The bill also would eliminate the "alternates" to the MTA board. Under existing law, the MTA principal board members appoint "alternate" members who can vote on most issues in their absence and who participate in board discussions. RELATED ARTICLE: Conflict of interest charges probed The inspector general of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to release a report this week on an investigation into conflict of interest charges leveled over the awarding of a contract and the possible harassment Ask a Lawyer Question Country: United States of America State: Nevada I recently moved to nev.from abut have been going back to ca. every 2 to 3 weeks for med. of an MTA whistle-blower whis·tle·blow·er or whis·tle-blow·er or whistle blower n. One who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority: "The Pentagon's most famous whistleblower is . . . The case centers around the award of a bid for construction management of Metro Rail subway tunneling tunneling, quantum-mechanical effect by which a particle can penetrate a barrier into a region of space that would be forbidden by ordinary classical mechanics. for the North Hollywood extension. MTA staff recommended that the $80 million contract go to Jacobs Engineering Group Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC), a publicly traded company with annual revenues approaching $7 billion, provides professional technical services. Headquartered in Pasadena, CA, Jacobs offers support to industrial, commercial, and government clients across multiple . Morrison Knudsen Corp. filed a protest. MK is alleging that Jacobs had an unfair advantage because of Jacobs employee was involved in preparing the bid documents (as a subconsultant to MTA's oversight consultant) and because former Jacobs employees (who now work for the MTA) were involved in reviewing the bid submittals and tallying the final scores. Meanwhile, an MTA contracts administrator who pointed out the potential problem to the inspector general is reportedly claiming that he has been harassed by his superiors. This would violate state laws protecting whistle-blowers. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Supervisor/MTA board member Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. was quoted in the MTA Report, a publication of lobbying from Rose & Kindel, as calling the whole situation "bizarre" and "absurd." Rose & Kindel also reported that MTA Chief Executive Franklin White recently circulated an agency-wide memorandum urging employees to be "vigilant in your efforts to avoid conflict of interest situations in all matters. ... Our reputation is at stake." - Anne Rackham |
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