The upcoming February 26, 2024 SacRT board meeting has agenda item 7.2 on board composition and voting. Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) opposes the motion because it locks in the current one seat-one vote voting mechanism, which STAR believes is flawed. All three options maintain this pattern. STAR believes that:
- SacRT board voting should be population-weighted
- non-electeds should be able to serve on the board if nominated by the member cities and counties
STAR has been promoting these better governance models for some while: AB 354 two SacRT seats for Elk Grove passes; SacRT board structure on the agenda again; SacRT board composition motion passes; SacRT may move to restrict citizen participation; STAR letter on SacRT board composition; and SacRT board representation.
STAR’s letter to SacRT is below and pdf.
Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) 
After extensive discussion, the SacRT board passed a motion for a 13 member board, with 3 for City of Sacramento, 3 for Sacramento County, 2 for Elk Grove, and 1 each for Citrus Heights, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova, with two potential additions in the future. Board members continued to ignore the elephant in the room, which is that one member one vote is a poor governance model which gives power to small entities and takes it away from large entities. It is as far from representative democracy as one can get. The motion passed further dilutes the power of both the City of Sacramento, and Sacramento County, which is exactly what is intended by the smaller entities, and demonstrates beyond a doubt that one member one vote is a failure of governance. It is a sad day for public representation on the SacRT board.
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