MTC Mourns Death of Former Leader Scott Haggerty

Former Commission Chair Scott Haggerty, who retired from MTC in 2021 after more than 20 years of service representing Alameda County, died Sunday in Tennessee. He was 68. 

Mr. Haggerty, who was elected by his colleagues first in 2009 and then again in 2019 to serve as MTC Chair, was the first Commission member to serve two terms as leader. Both terms coincided with historic transportation funding crises. Mr. Haggerty charted the Commission's course through the Great Recession from 2009 to 2011 and then led MTC's efforts to keep Bay Area transit agencies afloat during the upheavals caused by the COVID-19 pandemic during the latter half of his 2019-21 chairmanship. During his second term as MTC Chair, Mr. Haggerty also presided over the formation of the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority and key milestones in the development of Plan Bay Area 2050.

"Scott’s legacy is one of service, vision, and steadfast dedication to the public good,” observed Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, who succeeded Mr. Haggerty as the Board of Supervisors' representative on the Commission. “I witnessed firsthand his unwavering commitment to improving transportation, strengthening our communities, and advocating for the residents he represented. His leadership helped shape countless transportation projects and regional initiatives that will benefit generations to come.” 

Mr. Haggerty, who grew up in Fremont and was a longtime resident of the Tri-Valley area, was first elected to represent District One on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 1996. District residents then re-elected him five more times. Mr. Haggerty's record of regional government leadership includes service as Chair of both the Association of Bay Area Governments’ Executive Board and of the Bay Area Air District, in addition to stints on the Alameda County Transportation Commission, the Altamont Commuter Express Joint Powers Authority, the Tri-Valley — San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority, the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority and the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority.

Mr. Haggerty throughout his career galvanized support for major regional transportation improvements, including the BART-Oakland Airport Connector, the fourth bore of the Caldecott Tunnel, and the Salesforce Transbay Transit Center and the Presidio Parkway replacement for Doyle Drive in San Francisco. A 1999 meeting with then-San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzalez led to Mr. Haggerty's long-running role in advancing BART’s push into Santa Clara County, the first leg of which was the extension from the original Fremont terminus to Warm Springs, followed by the 2020 opening of new stations in Milpitas and North San Jose's Berryessa district. 

Mr. Haggerty also worked to build momentum for the Valley Link project now under development by the Tri-Valley—San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority and energized efforts to establish Express Lanes on congested Bay Area freeway corridors, including Interstate 680 over the Sunol Grade, I-580 in the Tri-Valley, I-680 through Contra Costa County and I-880 in Alameda County.