LOS ANGELES — Gary Gallegos, the executive director of the San Diego Association of Governments, which has been mired in controversy over a failed bond measure, will retire at the end of the year.
SANDAG announced Tuesday that Gallegos, who has led the agency since 2001, is stepping down.
Gallegos, 57, has overseen the agency for 16 years.
A consultant’s
The Voice of San Diego
The email issue arose after the publication
SANDAG has since revealed it has a $17 billion shortfall for TransNet, the sales tax approved by voters in 2004.
SANDAG Chair and County Supervisor Ron Roberts lauded Gallegos in a statement, despite reports by the Voice of San Diego that suggest culpability.
“Gary Gallegos will leave us as a giant in regional planning and transportation,” Roberts said in a statement.
“His drive and effectiveness as a transportation leader are nationally renowned, particularly when it comes to bringing investment into our community and getting creative projects started and completed,” Roberts said. “While he will be sorely missed, I must honor his decision.”
Gallegos said retirement “has been on my mind for some time.”
He said he stayed to help SANDAG “through the process of an independent examination of our forecasting efforts, as well as keep the organization moving forward on major initiatives such as the construction of the Mid-Coast Trolley extension and South Bay Rapid, along with planning for the Otay Mesa East Port of Entry.”
In 2004, Gallegos led the effort to extend TransNet, a regional half-cent sales tax for transportation that was approved by 67% of county voters.
To date, according to SANDAG, TransNet has spent approximately $3 billion – and attracted another $10 billion in state and federal matching funds – to build approximately 20 major highway and Managed Lane projects and almost 30 transit projects throughout the region.