Darnell Grisby is New Chair of CA Transpo Commission

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The California Transportation Commission kicked off its first meeting of the year by electing Darnell Grisby as its new Chairperson and Clarissa Falcon as its new Vice Chair. Facing no opposition, Grisby and Falcon were both elected unanimously.

Grisby served as vice-chair to the CTC over the last year. He was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the commission in 2021. Grisby is Senior Fellow at the Beneficial State Foundation, where, according to his biography, “he leads programs that support economic mobility through transportation and financial justice.” Before that, he spent nearly a decade with the American Public Transit Association working with transit agencies facing budget cuts to maintain service. Grisby is currently a resident of San Francisco.

Falcon is the President and Principal Consultant for Falcon Strategies. She previously worked for the California State Senate as a district director and as a public policy analyst for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. Falcon was appointed in September of 2021 to the Commission by the State Senate.

Before the final vote, representatives for the Clean Air Coalition, Next Gen California, and Climate Plan spoke in favor of the nomination.

The 13-member California Transportation Commission (CTC)  is responsible for programming and allocating funds for the construction of highway, passenger rail, transit and active transportation improvements throughout California. The Commission also advises and assists the Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency and the Legislature in formulating and evaluating state policies and plans for California’s transportation programs.The commission is meeting today (January 30) and tomorrow.

To learn more about the CTC, you can read our previous coverage or listen to the first episode of our new podcast StreetSmart. The first episode features Jeanie Ward-Waller and focuses on the importance and politics of the CTC.