Subregion Elects Santa Clarita’s Patsy Ayala To Metro Board, Pending Final County Approval
With Glendale City Councilmember Ara Najarian retiring, the subregion he represented is selecting his replacement on the 13-member Metro Board of Directors. Today, North County/San Fernando Valley subregion representatives met and elected Patsy Ayala to Metro. The subregion’s pick still needs to be approved by the full county.
Ayala is a Santa Clarita City Councilmember, first elected in 2024, and currently serving as Mayor Pro Tem. Her council seat is nonpartisan. According to KHTS, she has worked for two different Republican state legislators.
Her council campaign website did not have a lot of detail on Metro issues, beyond supporting “Investing in infrastructure that will relieve traffic congestion, and improve the quality of life” including “Improving roadways, ensuring reliable public transit, and maintaining public spaces.”
That website was recently retooled to emphasize Ayala’s readiness to serve on the Metro board. It now notes her “more than a decade of transportation experience” and her “listen-first approach,” then lists her support for Metro projects in her area: delivering the NoHo-Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), upgrading the Metrolink Antelope Valley Line, improving Highway 14, and more.
At today’s City Selection Committee meeting, Ayala recounted her involvement in transportation issues, including working for state elected officials and working with Metro.
Lancaster Vice Mayor Lauren Hughes-Leslie was also nominated for the Metro seat. Hughes-Leslie spoke in favor of a balanced approach to transportation, relating positive experiences on transit in other parts of the world.
The committee’s decision uses a population-weighted vote system (see breakdown). Of 99 possible votes, Ayala received 62 and Hughes-Leslie 35. Ayala was supported by the cities of Agoura Hills, Burbank, Glendale, Hidden Hills, La Cañada Flintridge, Malibu, San Fernando, Santa Clarita, and Westlake Village. The two High Desert cities of Lancaster and Palmdale voted for Hughes-Leslie. Calabasas was absent.
Ayala’s approval will next go to a population-weighted vote of a City Selection Committee consisting of representatives of all L.A. County cities other than Los Angeles. Last month that full county committee rejected Santa Clarita Councilmember Jason Gibbs.
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