By Megan Burks
City Council voted last week to approve Mayor Bob Filner and Council President Todd Gloria’s SANDAG committee recommendations.
At stake in the vote were assignments to the regional planning agency’s committees on everything from the border to the region’s airports. Of particular interest to City Heights was the representative selected to serve on the transportation committee.
It was a spot Filner and Councilwoman Marti Emerald told City Heights residents at a rally in May they’d try to snag for District 9. Residents in the district are more likely to ride public transit than others in the county.
Emerald didn’t get the seat. The council voted unanimously – Emerald included – to keep Gloria as the transportation representative with Emerald as an alternate. Emerald seconded the motion to approve the recommendations.
“As far as I remember, everybody who asked me got what they wanted,” Filner said after the vote. “Every councilmember was given their first and or second choice. We accomplished all our objectives.”
I asked readers and the local nonprofits involved with the push for better representation during big transportation decisions whether Filner and Emerald broke their promises.
In a Facebook poll, one reader said “absolutely.” Another said “it looked like they tried.”
The City Heights Community Development Corporation and Mid-City Community Advocacy Network, which both prompted Filner and Emerald to make the promises, aren’t saying either way. But it’s clear they aren’t holding grudges over the matter.
From the City Heights CDC:
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We’re confident that with Mayor Filner, Council President Gloria, and Councilmember Emerald serving on the SANDAG Board of Directors and Transportation Committee, City Heights – San Diego’s most walking/biking/transit-dependent community – will have a strong voice at both of those very important tables. Councilmember Emerald and Council President Gloria have worked very well together in the past to champion Complete Streets and transit for City Heights and we look forward to seeing a continuance and an acceleration of that. |
From Mid-City CAN:
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The numbers show why public transportation is so important in City Heights: About 13,000 people a day board buses in the City Heights area, according to the Metropolitan Transit System.
With Todd Gloria’s appointment to the Sandag Transportation Committee and District 9 City Council Representative Marti Emerald’s appointment as a first alternate, we hope that the Mayor and City Council will honor their commitment to improve public transportation in City Heights. Council President Gloria has a long history in City Heights and understands the importance of public transportation here, where it is usually the only way to get to a job or to school. |
Emerald said in an email she would champion City Heights transportation needs despite her position as an alternate on the transportation committee.
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The recent SANDAG appointments are of great importance to me. I appreciate Mayor Filner’s trust in me to represent the City’s needs at SANDAG including the Public Safety and Transportation Committees. I will continue to advocate for more resources and bringing needed transportation and public safety services to the City. San Diegans deserve safe, transit-friendly and walkable communities. As I have done during the past four years, Council President Gloria and I will continue to work together to improve transportation for residents of San Diego. |
Residents interested in getting involved with the campaign for better transportation can attend a meeting on youth transit needs 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at Central Elementary School.