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Supervisor Nathan Fletcher today began his two-year term as Chair of MTS
**Remarks from new MTS Board Chair Nathan Fletcher (video)
East County News Service
October 21, 2019 (San Diego) - In a unanimous vote today, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) board of directors elected San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher to a two-year term as chairperson. His appointment will run through December 2021. Supervisor Fletcher takes over for San Diego City Council President Georgette Gómez, who held the post since January 2018.
“We look forward to working with Supervisor Fletcher as our new chair,” said Paul Jablonski, MTS chief executive officer. “He is a strong leader who will help our continued success as one of the top public transit agencies in the nation. Supervisor Fletcher is a steadfast advocate for transit and he comes in at a time where many major initiatives are coming to fruition.”
Supervisor Fletcher was elected in 2018 to represent 640,000 residents in the County of San Diego’s Fourth Supervisorial District, which spans from Paradise Hills in the south, east to Encanto and north to UC San Diego. He is working to tackle some of our region's biggest challenges including behavioral health, child welfare, air quality and increasing access to transportation. Supervisor Fletcher was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to serve as a member of the California Air Resources Board. He is also a member of the Governor’s Council of Regional Homeless Advisors, and Co-Chair of the Child & Family strengthening Advisory Board. He is a decorated Marine Corps combat veteran, has served in the California State Assembly, and has been a political science professor at UC San Diego since 2013.
“It is a great honor to lead our region’s public transit system and I know together we can move forward to a better connected, less congested and greener future,” Supervisor Fletcher said. “This is an exciting time for the agency, its passengers and employees. The agency’s first electric buses will begin service later this year, and the Board will consider asking voters about growing the region’s transit network in 2020. And, in 2021, the Mid-Coast Trolley extension to UC San Diego and UTC will open. I am honored to lead this Board for the next two years and appreciate the opportunity.”
The MTS Board is made up of 15 local elected officials – four from the City of San Diego, two from Chula Vista, and one each from the County of San Diego, Poway, Santee, El Cajon, La Mesa, National City, Lemon Grove, Coronado, and Imperial Beach.
- Chair Nathan Fletcher (County of San Diego, District 4)
- Vice Chair Mona Rios (National City)
- Chair Pro-Tem Bill Sandke (Coronado)
- Paloma Aguirre (Imperial Beach)
- David Arambula (Lemon Grove)
- Mark Arapostathis (Mayor of La Mesa)
- Kevin Faulconer (Mayor of San Diego)
- Caylin Frank (Poway)
- Jill Galvez (Chula Vista)
- Georgette Gómez (San Diego, District 9)
- Ronn Hall (Santee)
- Bob McClellan (El Cajon)
- Monica Montgomery (San Diego, District 4)
- Mary Salas (Mayor of Chula Vista)
- Chris Ward (San Diego, District 3)
MTS operates 95 bus routes and three Trolley lines on 53 miles of double-tracked railway. Every weekday, 300,000 passenger trips are taken on MTS bus and Trolley services in 10 cities and unincorporated areas of the county. In FY 2018, MTS served more than 86 million riders. For more information on how you can use public transportation and save money, go to www.sdmts.com.
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