Nestande Will Chair Panel on Transportation
Orange County Supervisor Bruce Nestande on Thursday was elected chairman of the nine-member state Transportation Commission, which oversees all state-funded highway and transit projects.
Nestande, a Republican and former state Assemblyman from Orange, replaces Chairwoman Judith Hopkinson of Los Angeles.
Former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., a Democrat, appointed Nestande to the influential panel in a surprise move three years ago. Nestande served as commission vice chairman this past year.
Key Question
A key question facing transportation planners throughout the state is whether Nestande will try to block expenditures on rail transit. He is a strong critic of most rail projects.
His chairmanship comes as he is launching an exploratory campaign for the 1986 Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
Nestande has hired former state GOP field representative Joseph LaRoche to organize the campaign. LaRoche is working out of a Santa Ana office and is being paid $1,800 a month, according to Nestande aide Ron Rogers.
State transportation commissioners receive $100 for each commission meeting they attend. Almost all the meetings, held monthly, are in Sacramento, where the chairmanship vote took place.
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