SACRAMENTO - Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich testified before the State Assembly Local Government Committee today in support of a proposal to add an additional member to the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Board of Directors to represent the fast-growing Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys and develop vital public transit and highway policies.

Antonovich said that Assembly Bill 251, authored by Assemblyman Steve Knight (R- Palmdale), would ensure that the county's northern areas had effective representation on a Board currently dominated by the city of Los Angeles and four representatives who vote in lockstep with Mayor Villaraigosa.

"Our county's regional transportation system is being gambled away in a poker game where one special interest group is always holding four aces," Antonovich said. "Assembly Bill 251 will ensure that the Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys will have a greater voice in how the MTA initiates projects and allocates funding."