The Metrolink Board of Directors

Still on the Metrolink theme from Friday and Saturday, I'd like to take a moment to explore just WHY the Metrolink board representatives for Orange and Riverside Counties may have come to the conclusion that their local dollars were best spent on something else.

First, a quick exercise. Here is a list of the areas in Riverside County that currently have Metrolink service:

City of Riverside
City of Corona
Pedley, unincorporated portion of County District 2

Here's a list of the areas that the Riverside delegation to the Metrolink Board represent:

Directors:
Ron Roberts, Temecula
Daryl Busch, Perris

Alternates:
Robin Lowe, Hemet
Greg Pettis, Cathedral City

You'll notice that the above lists do not overlap. At all. The Riverside County delegation to the Metrolink Board does not represent any areas that actually HAVE Metrolink service in them, and so I wonder just how qualified they are to make decisions affecting said service. Perris and Hemet are still firmly in the build-more-freeways mode of providing transportation, as evidenced by the Mid-County Parkway project. Temecula is more a part of the San Diego metro area than the Los Angeles one (perhaps Mr. Roberts would like to join the Coaster board?), and Cathedral City is a full hour's drive from the nearest Metrolink station, and in an entirely different media market.

On to Orange County. I won't list all the O.C. Metrolink stations.

Directors:
Art Brown, Buena Park (only got train service in 2007)
Richard Dixon, Lake Forest (no train service)

Alternate:
Patricia Bates, County District 5 (Covers much of the LOSSAN corridor, most frequent rail service in the area... but she's an alternate!)

Compare this to the San Bernardino delegation:

Directors:
Paul Eaton, Montclair (Major transit centre on frequent SB Line)
Patrick Morris, San Bernardino (Two lines, plus Amtrak)

Alternates:
Patricia Gilbreath, Redlands (No service, but planning on a light rail so they can get it)
Diane Williams, Rancho Cucamonga (SB Line)

or the Ventura delegation:
Director Keith Millhouse, Moorpark (VC Line, plus Amtrak)
Alternate Brian Humphrey, VCTC

or the Los Angeles delegation:
Richard Katz, Los Angeles & LACMTA (5 lines, plus Amtrak)
Michael Antonovich, County District 5 (represents most of the AV Line, plus West Covina)
Don Knabe, County District 4 (Not much, but Norwalk's on 2 lines)
Ara Najarian, Glendale & LACMTA (2 lines, plus Amtrak)

And all of the alternates are appointed by LACMTA.

It would seem that actually representing an area that has Metrolink service is highly correlated with working to ensure Metrolink service isn't cut. Why did RCTC choose to send people who don't meet that criteria to represent us on the Metrolink board?