UPDATE (9:25 a.m.): San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn will remain acting chair of the Metropolitan Transit System board after the board could not reach a two-thirds vote on any of the candidates.
The next Chair will fill the role vacated after Nathan Fletcher’s resignation.
ABC 10News learned the board could not vote on the three recommended candidates -- La Mesa Councilmember Patricia Dillard; El Cajon Councilmember Steve Goble; and Whitburn.
The board voted twice on each candidate and none of three could not reach the 2/3 vote needed, leaving Whitburn to remain as acting chair until the board meets again on May 18.
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- New leadership is on the horizon at the Metropolitan Transit System, as the board will appoint its new chair on Thursday.
The board is considering one of the following board members to become its next chair:
- El Cajon City Councilmember Steve Goble
- La Mesa City Councilmember Patricia Dillard
- San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn (acting chair of the board)
The appointed chair will need to secure a two-thirds vote and will serve until the end of the year.
The chair position opened at the end of March when Nathan Fletcher and the agency were named a lawsuit.
In the suit, former MTS employee Grecia Figueroa accuses Fletcher -- the then chair of MTS -- of sexual assault and harassment.
Fletcher has denied the allegations, but he left the chair post when the lawsuit was released.
MTS' legal team is investigating the explosive allegations, while the board has appointed a firm to conduct an independent investigation as well.
The new chair will gain a seat on the agency's Executive Committee, which sets and hears about all agenda items, including those involving this investigation a week before board meetings.
The new chair will also be given an automatic seat on the Audit Oversight Committee.
The meeting to decide on the next chair is slated to begin at 8 a.m.
