Assembly Speaker Nunez calls for MTA's Snoble to resign
He says the top official let L.A. County get shortchanged when a state commission awarded funds to improve commercial transportation.
SACRAMENTO — Saying Southern California has been shortchanged on money for transportation projects, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez called today for the resignation of Roger Snoble as head of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Nunez, a Democrat from Los Angeles, was reacting to a California Transportation Commission decision today to give five Southern California counties $1.6 billion from a $3-billion pot for projects aimed at improving the flow of goods through ports and along highways and rail lines.
In particular, Nunez charged that Snoble agreed to a bad deal that gave Los Angeles County short shrift early in the competition for funds, and that the agency failed to provide enough projects ready to build that could compete for the money.
Three dozen state legislators had asked that at least 70% of the money, some of which came from state bonds, go to Southern California because it is home to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which combined handle 85% of the shipping cargo containers that move through California.
"Over this issue, Snoble should go," Nunez said. "He screwed this thing up. He did so much damage to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. This guy should step down."
Snoble is on vacation, but MTA spokesman Marc Littman said the agreement on how the money should be distributed involved several transportation executives from the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.
"Roger is only one player," Littman said. "There are five counties involved."
Littman said Snoble had fought hard to get the commission to provide $2.2 billion to Southern California, and said he would continue to seek that amount.
Projects to be funded by the plan approved today include:
* Replacement of the Gerald Desmond and Shuyler Heim Bridges in the Los Angeles-Long Beach ports area.
* A two-mile trench for rail lines under several streets in Alhambra, San Gabriel and Rosemead so cars no longer have to stop for passing trains.
* Widening parts of the California 91 and Interstate 15 freeways.
