The San Joaquin Council of Governments’ (SJCOG) Board of Directors on Thursday appointed Balwinder Singh to the agency’s Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to represent the trucking industry.
Singh, who heads the Caltrans Multimodal Transportation Research Branch, fills the last of four recent vacancies on the committee that provides input on Measure K, the half-cent sales tax for transportation projects in San Joaquin County. Ripon Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Kelly Donohue, JaniTek Cleaning Solutions President and CEO Blain Bibb, and San Joaquin County Board of Education Member Ken Vogel, a former county supervisor and former SJCOG chair, were appointed to the CAC in recent months.
“A background in transportation is not required for appointment to the CAC, but Mr. Singh brings with him an expertise and insight that is very much appreciated in this important forum for discussing how we implement the Measure K program and regional transportation planning issues,” said SJCOG Executive Director Diane Nguyen. “I thank Mr. Singh and all current and past CAC members for their commitment to their communities.”
A Stockton resident and registered professional engineer with Caltrans, Singh and his research team works in the planning and operations of freight, rail and mass transit initiatives. He has conducted internal reviews of safety and freight movement improvement projects, including the Interstate 5 Trade Corridor, State Route 4 Crosstown Freeway Extension, Navy Drive BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) Underpass Project, and the Navy Drive Widening project.
Formed in 1991, the CAC is made up of county residents from diverse backgrounds with varied interests to provide input in the development of SJCOG transportation plans and programs funded by Measure K. The CAC is a vital part of how the agency manages Measure K, the half-cent sales tax for transportation projects in San Joaquin County. Measure K was initially approved by voters in 1990 for 20 years and renewed by nearly 78% of county voters in 2006 for an additional 30 years.
The CAC is made of members who represent the geographical, social, cultural and economic mix of the region. A member is appointed to four-year terms from each of the cities — Escalon, Lathrop, Lodi, Manteca, Ripon, Stockton and Tracy — and San Joaquin County. A member each is appointed from several special interest groups, including the League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), University of the Pacific, and one each from the agriculture, business and trucking industries. One member is appointed to represent transit advocacy.
The current CAC includes:
Gracie Marx, City of Escalon
Jim Hilson, City of Lathrop
Richard Blackston, City of Lodi
Steve Debrum, City of Manteca
Kelly Donohue, City of Ripon
Blain Bibb, City of Stockton
Mary Kennedy-Bracken, City of Tracy
Robert Bivens, San Joaquin County
Michael Carouba, business industry
Lauren Ah Tye, League of Women Voters
LaCresia Hawkins, NAACP
Jessica Bilecki, University of the Pacific
Paul Plathe, Sierra Club
Ken Vogel, agriculture industry
Leonard Smith, transit advocate
Balwinder Singh, trucking industry