Forty-two San Joaquin County transportation leaders, elected officials, and regional advocates are in Washington, D.C. through Thursday, May 4 to meet with key leaders in the Administration and Congress about specific policy issues and projects important to this region. The delegates, who traveled to Washington on April 30, are part of the annual San Joaquin One Voice effort coordinated by the San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG), which serves as the metropolitan planning organization for San Joaquin County.
Among the attendees are San Joaquin County District 4 Supervisor Chuck Winn – who represents Escalon, Farmington and Collegeville on the county board – as well as Mike Anderson, District Director for Congressman Jeff Denham; Donna DeMartino, General Manager and CEO of San Joaquin Regional Transit District; Jim Ferrari, Board President of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau; and Stacey Mortensen, Executive Director, San Joaquin Rail Commission.
“The trip will include meetings with Congressmen Jeff Denham and Jerry McNerney, who represent the San Joaquin County region; Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein; high-ranking officials at Economic Development Administration, Federal Transit Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, the Committee on Highways and Transit, and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,” said county Public Information Officer Nicole Gorham, “as well as other congressional representatives and officials from the White House Intergovernmental Affairs and US Customs and Border Protection offices. Our elected federal representatives view this trip positively as a means of helping them to prioritize and shepherd needed projects and policies through the federal process.”
The regional priorities for 2017 include: ACE freight and passenger rail mobility enhancement; lighting and instrument landing system upgrades at the Stockton Metropolitan Airport; West Complex access improvements at the Port of Stockton, SR 99/120 Connector improvements in Manteca, I-5 interchange and widening improvements in north Stockton, improvements to Grant Line Road in San Joaquin County, and interchange and parkway improvements at the International Park of Commerce in Tracy. Other project requests include a multi-modal station in Ripon and several roadway/interchange improvements in Stockton, Manteca, Lathrop, Lodi and Tracy.
“During our visit we will have the opportunity to discuss our regional priorities as well as local projects that will support our local economy. Our ability to speak with one unified voice for the county and communities we represent sends a strong message about our regional collaboration and the importance of these projects,” said Mayor Steve DeBrum, representing the City of Manteca.
The San Joaquin Council of Governments is a joint powers authority comprised of the County of San Joaquin and the cities of Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, Tracy, Ripon, Escalon, and Lathrop. The agency serves as the regional transportation planning agency, the habitat conservation program, and a technical resource for its local jurisdictions. As the local transportation authority, SJCOG oversees Measure K, the local half-cent transportation sales tax for San Joaquin County.
