San Leandro’s Mayor Retires From Air Board

By Tasha Bartholomew, STAFF WRITER

SAN LEANDRO — Mayor Shelia Young announced her retirement from the local air district board Wednesday.

Young, who has been a member of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors since 2000, said she is retiring because she wants to concentrate on running for the Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 3 seat in June.

“I felt it was best to give it up to someone who isn’t running for office,” she said. “I feel I can bring my knowledge from the air district board to the county.”

Young said Dublin Mayor Janet Lockhart will take her seat on the 22-member board, which is responsible for approving policies to reduce emissions from stationary sources of air pollution.

The board is made up of supervisors, mayors or council members in the air district, which includes Alameda, Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, San Mateo, Contra Costa, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties.

Although air quality in the region has greatly improved in recent decades, Young said, some of the greatest strides have been made in the past five years.

Some notable air district accomplishments made during her tenure include:

– Launching a Lower-Emission School Bus Program to administer grants to school districts for the replacement and retrofitting of older, diesel-powered school buses.

– Adopting the district’s 2001 and 2005 Ozone Attainment plans that were designed to bring the Bay Area closer to complianc with state ozone standards.

– Adopting initiatives to reduce harmful small-particle pollution, such as regulating diesel generators and offering incentives for natural gas refuse trucks.

– Establishing a Community Air Risk Evaluation (CARE) Program to provide better understanding of the cumulative impact of toxic air pollutants on smaller communities throughout the Bay Area.

– Partnering with the Port of Oakland on an Emulsified Fuel Pilot Program to test a cleaner blend of diesel fuel on truck fleets hauling shipping containers to and from port terminals.

“In 2004 and 2005, the Bay Area experienced the lowest pollution levels in recorded history,” the mayor said. “And I am very proud to have been a part of the efforts that have made the air healthier to breathe for all Bay Area residents.”