South County is on its way to consistent annual representation on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority board of directors. Until then, the region plans to defy its outnumbered northern peer and change the traditional three-way rotation for the term that begins next year.
Following a 9-2 vote at a regular VTA board meeting Thursday, the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy will no longer share a seat on the 12-member body with the city of Milpitas. Officials from the three cities agree that this will provide all of their communities a voice to represent their concerns.
"It was very satisfying to hear folks from cities throughout the county all concur that this was the right way to go," said Morgan Hill City Councilman and VTA board member Greg Sellers. "It's not a perfect solution but it's certainly better than what we have now, and it will ensure adequate representation on the VTA board in the future."
The vote follows a long-simmering dispute about the fairness of the current system of board member appointments.
The VTA board is broken up into five groups consisting of representatives from different cities and regions within Santa Clara County. The groupings are based on populations of cities and geographical divisions to ensure everyone in the county is adequately represented.
For the last 16 years, the cities of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and Milpitas have belonged to one of these groupings, and have taken turns occupying the single seat they share for two-year terms. Sellers currently represents the "MGM group" on the VTA board, and his current term will end Dec. 31.
With Thursday's vote, the MGM group will no longer exist. The city of Milpitas will move into a new "Northwest County" group, which will also contain representatives of the cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. The South County group will only consist of Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
"(That's) what Morgan Hill and Gilroy wanted, so we wouldn't lose a seat 33 percent of the time," said Gilroy councilman and MGM group representative Perry Woodward.
Indeed, the current process is unfair to everyone in the MGM group, officials from all three cities agree.
"South County issues are very different (from Milpitas issues). We're very pleased with the vote of the board," Milpitas Mayor Robert Livengood said.
The MGM group, which will remain active until the city groups are re-aligned, will vote on who takes over for the next term next month. Based on the past rotation cycle, a representative from Milpitas is scheduled to sit on the board for 2010 and 2011.
However, that rotation is based on an informal agreement and the seat is subject to a formal vote within the group. Both Sellers and Woodward have indicated they plan to vote on appointing a Gilroy representative - probably Woodward - to the VTA board.
Livengood said Milpitas is still entitled to the seat, and the city needs adequate representation due to a coming BART train extension.
"We've been without a seat for four years," Livengood said. "The planning and engineering stage of the BART extension (to Milpitas) is now upon us, and I anticipate in December I will be appointing the Milpitas representative for the MGM group until the new groupings take effect."
In February, when Sellers and Woodward indicated their intention to switch up the rotation, Livengood called it an attempt to "hijack" the seat for South County.
County supervisor and VTA board member Don Gage voted in favor of re-grouping the board seats Thursday. He agreed the current system is unfair to everyone involved. The ongoing disagreement about who is up next for a seat on the board highlights the fact that Milpitas will always be outnumbered by the South County cities whose interests are aligned with each other, but are vastly different from those of the northern city, Gage said.
"Milpitas doesn't have anything in common with Gilroy and Morgan Hill. They're separated by a significant distance, and the issues are not the same," Gage said.
The current North County grouping appoints three members to the VTA board, the "West Valley" group appoints one member, the city of San Jose group appoints five members, the county group appoints two members, and the MGM group appoints one.
It will likely be several months before the new city groupings take effect as VTA staff sort out all the details. Sellers said he hopes to find a way for both South County and Milpitas to have a seat on the board until the new groupings are finalized.
Voting against the new groups Thursday were VTA board members Chris Moylan of Sunnyvale, and Yoriko Kishimoto of Palo Alto.
Michael Moore Michael Moore covers county and law enforcement issues for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106, ext. 202, or mmoore@morganhilltimes.com.
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