SANDAG doesn\u2019t represent the needs of San Diegans \u2013 and a San Diegan is fighting to keep it that way.<\/h2>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an old saying in Tennessee \u2014 I know it\u2019s in Texas, probably in Tennessee \u2014 that says, fool me once, shame on \u2014 shame on you. Fool me \u2014 you can\u2019t get fooled again.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u2013 George W. Bush<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It\u2019s time for new leadership at SANDAG, starting with Lorie Zapf. Without the oversight we expect and demand from elected representatives like Zapf, senior staff has shown that it will mislead the public<\/a> on a regular basis. SANDAG\u2019s inability to tell the truth on major ballot initiatives is rage-inducing, but far from the organization\u2019s only problem.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Beyond the deception, SANDAG is a fundamentally undemocratic organization. Set up so, as Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher<\/a> put it, \u201crepresentatives of 15 percent of the population get to veto anything that happens in an entire region\u201d, \u00a0Zapf, along with the SANDAG Board, continue to push outdated transportation ideas that don\u2019t fit the goals of the county\u2019s major population centers like San Diego and Chula VIsta.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>AB805 will make a huge difference in how this agency is run. It will ensure proper oversight and accountability through an independent auditor and audit committee. It will also reconstitute the voting structure, ensuring more fair and judicious governance. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Naturally there\u2019s push back and, with a board of directors that\u2019s the embodiment of a Good Ol\u2019 Boys Club, it\u2019s not surprising. Small town mayors are hunkering down, making bizarre proclamations that fighting AB805 is akin to fighting communism as they discuss putting a \u201cself-reform\u201d bill on the ballot to try and get out of making these needed changes. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Zapf, who represents a district in dire need of better public transportation options to ease congestion and increase neighborhood quality of life, has not stood up for the needs and wants of her constituents at SANDAG. During a recent hearing, she defended the system in which one resident of Del Mar has as much power as 164 San Diegans, calling AB805 \u201cfundamentally\u2026 undemocratic.\u201d She went on to say the bill was \u201csmoke and mirrors\u201d and that state reform of a state created agency is \u201cnot the way this country operates. It\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d Zapf has consistently shown that blind party loyalty is the decisive factor in her decision making, at the expense of the city, and people, she represents. <\/span><\/p>\n

If Zapf isn\u2019t going to fight for San Diegans and her voters at SANDAG, then Mayor Faulconer has a decision to make. He needs to choose an alternate who will put San Diego first, not someone who will act to the detriment of their constituents.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SANDAG doesn\u2019t represent the needs of San Diegans \u2013 and a San Diegan is fighting to keep it that way. \u201cThere\u2019s an old saying in Tennessee \u2014 I know it\u2019s in Texas, probably in Tennessee \u2014 that says, fool me once, shame on \u2014 shame on you. Fool me \u2014 you can\u2019t get fooled again.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[40,21,18,16,15,39,59,24,58],"class_list":["post-587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-clairemont","tag-jordan-beane","tag-lorie-zapf","tag-ocean-beach","tag-pacific-beach","tag-point-loma","tag-public-transportation","tag-san-diego","tag-sandag"],"yoast_head":"\n