 PHOENIX (July 26, 2002) — Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano has been elected as chair and Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs has been elected as vice chair for the new Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Transportation Policy Committee. The elections were made during a meeting of the MAG Regional Council July 24. Citing a need to enhance MAG's participatory process, the MAG Regional Council approved the creation of the new Transportation Policy Committee in May. Appointments to the committee were adopted by the Council in June (see attached). The Transportation Policy Committee includes representatives not only from MAG member agencies, but also from the business community, the state legislature, transit, and freight interests. "The Regional Council recognized that we needed more broad-based representation when it came to defining transportation policy for the region," said MAG Regional Council Chairman Wendy Feldman-Kerr. "Our transportation system moves the people and goods critical to our economic viability. It makes good sense to have input from business leaders, freight interests, and other levels of government," she said. "Although we have always reached out to these stakeholders in other ways, this is the first time they will be sitting at the table, directly involved in defining direction and developing policy." One of the primary tasks of the committee will be the development of a new Regional Transportation Plan, which will serve as the "transportation blueprint" for the region in both the near and long term. The Plan will help identify projects to be funded through the extension of the half-cent sales tax for transportation. The current half-cent sales tax is set to expire in 2005, and is the primary funding source for new freeway construction in the region. Feldman-Kerr says information being collected through MAG's current transportation studies will be crucial in determining projects that would be funded through the sales tax extension. "Clearly, the Transportation Policy Committee will utilize the wealth of information collected through the MAG studies to determine which investments are critical to maintaining our levels of mobility," she said. The Transportation Policy Committee will meet monthly and meetings will be open to the public. Below is a list of the new committee members and the agencies they represent. - Neil Giuliano,
Mayor, City of Tempe, Transportation Policy Committee Chair- Elaine Scruggs,
Mayor, City of Glendale, Transportation Policy Committee Vice Chair- Senator Linda Aguirre,
Chair, Senate Transportation Committee- Benito Almanza,
President, Bank of America- Rockne Arnett,
Chair, Citizens Transportation Oversight Committee- William Arnold,
Mayor, City of Goodyear- Steve Berman,
Mayor, Town of Gilbert- David Berry,
Vice President, Swift Transportation- Peggy Bilsten,
Councilmember, City of Phoenix- Representative Dean Cooley,
Chair, House Transportation Committee- Pat Dennis,
Councilmember, City of Peoria- Ron Drake,
Mayor, City of Avondale- Boyd Dunn,
Mayor, City of Chandler- Rusty Gant,
District 1 Representative, State Transportation Board - Keno Hawker,
Mayor, City of Mesa- Eneas Kane,
Vice President and General Counsel, DMB Associates, Inc.- Mary Manross,
Mayor, City of Scottsdale- Lon McDermott,
Mayor, Town of Wickenburg- James A. Pulice, Jr.,
Senior Vice President, Pulice Construction- Diane Scherer,
CEO, Phoenix Association of Realtors;
Chair, City of Phoenix Citizen’s Transit Commission- Daniel Schweiker,
Vice Mayor, Town of Paradise Valley- Martin L. Shultz,
Vice President, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation- Supervisor Don Stapley,
Chair, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors- J. Woodfin Thomas,
Mayor, City of Litchfield Park- Pending:
Native American Indian Community Representative
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