TransNet Independent Taxpayer Oversight

The TransNet Independent Taxpayer Oversight Committee (ITOC) is a group of community members appointed by SANDAG to provide an enhanced level of accountability for expenditures of TransNet funds, as outlined in the TransNet Ordinance and Expenditure Plan. The committee helps ensure that all voter mandates are carried out as required and develops recommendations for improvements to the financial integrity and performance of the program. Every year, ITOC releases an annual report of the Committee’s milestones and accomplishments.  

SANDAG invites the public to share your thoughts and ideas with ITOC so we can continue to maintain an open dialogue for the future of San Diego region’s transportation system. Please provide feedback on our comment form.

The ITOC meetings are generally held on the second Wednesday of every month for approximately two and a half hours.

Staff contact: Michelle Smith, 619.595.5608, michelle.smith@sandag.org.

Membership

The ITOC is a voting body of seven community members with qualifying expertise, as defined in the TransNet Ordinance. The ITOC currently has one vacant position.

Maryam Babaki, ITOC Chair (Term expires May 2027) 
Maryam is serving in the ITOC position for a professional in the field of municipal/public finance and/or budgeting with a minimum of ten years in a relevant and senior decision-making position in the public or private sector. She is currently the Director of Planning and Development for Rancho Santa Fe Association. Maryam has over 30 years of experience in the field of public and private management, engineering, development, and budgeting.

Francisco Rivera, ITOC Vice Chair (Term expires May 2026)
Francisco is serving in the ITOC position for a licensed architect, civil engineer or traffic engineer with 38 years of experience in technical and managerial engineering positions with the City of Chula Vista. He was a Principal Civil Engineer/Traffic Engineer for the Chula Vista Engineering department for the last 18 years of his career. His other relative experience is as a Deputy City Engineer and a Deputy Director of Engineering

Lorraine Ahlquist (Term expires May 2027) 
Lorraine is serving in the ITOC position for a professional in biology or environmental science with demonstrated experience in environmental regulations and major project mitigation requirements and/or habitat acquisition and management. She is a principal environmental lead at Mott MacDonald. Lorraine has more than 25 years of experience in environmental regulatory management, including coordinating reviews of technical studies for state and federal compliance and preparation of environmental documents.

Les Hopper (Term expires May 2028) 
Les is serving in the ITOC position for a licensed engineer with appropriate credentials in the field of transportation project design or construction and a minimum of ten years of experience in a relevant and senior decision-making position in the government or private sector. Les is a Principal at Rick Engineering Company and leads the Transportation Infrastructure Practice. He has 40 years of hands-on experience in the management, planning, permitting, and design of both public and private projects from inception through construction.

Sunnie House (Term expires May 2025) 
Sunnie is serving in the ITOC position for a chief executive officer or person in a similar senior-level decision-making position, of a major private sector employer with demonstrated experience in leading a large organization. She has over 40 years of experience in the delivery of a wide range of transportation infrastructure projects throughout the Western United States. Her executive leadership roles with large global infrastructure companies have solidified her reputation for excellence.

Tracy Drager, San Diego County Auditor’s Office