Garcetti Appoints Three to Metro Board

Among those named is Westside Councilman Mike Bonin.

Written by City News Service
Mayor Eric Garcetti Thursday appointed two council members and a president of a faith-based community development group to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The 13-member board oversees funding and contracting for major regional transportation projects in the Greater Los Angeles area and includes representatives of other cities and all members of the county Board of Supervisors.

The three appointments are being made as construction for major projects in the city of Los Angeles are underway or about to begin work.
The projects include improvements to the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass, the extension of the east-west Expo Line to Santa Monica and the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor that will connect Metro's rail system to LAX by cutting through south Los Angeles.
Westside Councilman Mike Bonin, who sits on the construction oversight panel for the Expo Line project, was tapped to sit on the board with Garcetti, who serves as the panel's vice chair.

Bonin's district includes LAX, which will be a termination point for the Crenshaw/LX Transit Corridor. His district's beach communities also parallel the I-405 freeway which is getting an additional lane as part of the improvements.
"We on the Westside are especially eager to get moving with real solutions that give us back the family time and dollars we lose while we are stuck in traffic and gridlock," Bonin said.
Garcetti also picked San Fernando Valley-area Councilman Paul Krekorian, chair of the Los Angeles City Council's Budget & Finance Committee, to set on the Metro board.
"Through innovation and efficiency, we need to get more for our transportation dollars and accelerate MTA's work toward enhanced mobility throughout the entire region," Krekorian said.
Jackie Dupont-Walker, who heads the West Adams-area Ward Economic Development Corp., will fill the third spot among the three mayoral appointees.
She also is president of the the USC Master Plan Advisory Committee representing the West Adams area in major developments at USC. Her area and the university sit at the juncture of the future Crenshaw and Expo lines.
Dupont-Walker said she will work with the mayor "to create an L.A. transportation system that will help bring our city's diverse neighborhoods closer together" and thinks the "new transportation hubs and corridors" would create jobs and stimulate the local economy.
The three will assume office at the board's next regular meeting, scheduled for July 25, Garcetti spokesman Yusef Robb said.