January 2019 will see a change in VTA Board leadership, as Santa Clara City Councilmember Teresa O’Neill takes over as Chair, and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez becomes Board Vice Chair.

The election took place at the December 6th board meeting as 2018 Chair San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo turned over the reins to then-vice chair O’Neill after the board elected O’Neill chair and Chavez as Vice Chair.

This is the first time O’Neill has served as VTA chair. She previously served on the Governance and Audit Committee, BART Silicon Valley Ad Hoc Committee, and the Administration and Finance Committee. O’Neill was appointed to the VTA board by the Santa Clara City Council in March 2016 representing the cities of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Milpitas.

Supervisor Chavez has served on the VTA on and off for almost 20 years, including stints when she was a San Jose City Councilmember. She has served as Board Chair twice and has been a member of the following VTA committees: Capital Program Committee, Safety, Security, and Transit Planning and Operations, BART Silicon Valley Ad Hoc Committee, Ad Hoc Financial Stability Committee, BART Silicon Valley Governance Ad Hoc Committee, Diridon Station Joint Policy Advisory Board, Eastridge to BART Regional Connector Policy Advisory Board, Governance and Audit Committee, Ad Hoc Committee – Envision Silicon Valley.

Chair O’Neill and Vice Chair Chavez assume their offices January 1.