Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian Becomes New Chair of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
 |
| Metro Board Chair Ara Najarian |
| Download: print-sized image (PDF) |
Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian takes over as chairman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors effective today, July 1. He replaces outgoing Board Chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
“As the new Board Chair, I look forward to providing the leadership necessary to enhance transportation options throughout the region,” said Najarian. “This next year will be both challenging and rewarding as we move the agency through difficult financial times while at the same time, begin implementing transportation improvement projects voted by the public with the passage of Measure R, the half-cent sales tax initiative.”
Najarian was elected to the Glendale City Council in 2005 and served as Mayor from 2007 to 2008. He is currently Chair of the Glendale Housing Authority and previously served as Chair of the Glendale Redevelopment Agency. He also served on the Glendale Community College Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2005 and was Chair of the Glendale Transportation and Parking Commission. Najarian has served as a director since 2006 and also currently serves on Metrolink’s Board of Directors.
Najarian has been an attorney in private practice in Glendale for 20 years and attended Occidental College where he received a BA degree in Economics and later earned his JD from USC School of Law.
Metro is the third largest public transportation agency in the United States. It has a $3.9 billion annual budget and more than 9,000 employees. It operates approximately 200 bus routes serving a 1,433 square mile service area and five subway and light rail lines that crisscross Los Angeles County. Metro’s total annual bus and rail ridership exceeds 400 million boardings.