The San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) Board of Directors at its June 27 meeting elected Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal as its next chair and Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln its next vice chair.
Dhaliwal replaces Escalon Mayor David Bellinger, who was the SJCOG Board chair the past year, and Lincoln replaces Dhaliwal as vice chair.
The SJCOG chair and vice chair are voted in annually from among members of the board of the joint-powers authority, which includes elected officials from Escalon, Lathrop, Lodi, Manteca, Ripon, San Joaquin County, Stockton and Tracy. A representative from Mountain House, the state’s newest city, will join the SJCOG Board in Fiscal Year 2024-25.
There are also nonvoting advisory representatives from Caltrans District 10, San Joaquin Regional Transit District and Port of Stockton. Board members are appointed by their respective councils or board.
SJCOG is the planning, financing and coordinating agency for the San Joaquin region overseeing transportation, housing and habitat conservation. SJCOG also manages Measure K transportation sales tax program, collects county demographic and economic data, airport land use planning, and regional air quality. It is also responsible for assigning each city and the county its fair share of affordable housing through the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process as part of a state mandate.
SJCOG board members also lead advocacy efforts in the San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento and Washington, D.C., through active involvement in San Joaquin One Voice®, San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council’s Valley Voice, and the Northern California Megaregion Working Group. Board members have a hand in directing regional and national planning issues through membership on the San Joaquin Regional Policy Council, Megaregion Working Group, and state and national planning associations.
The board also voted to make the terms from July 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, since both Dhaliwal and Lincoln are terming out of office and will not represent their current member jurisdiction beyond December.
Learn more about the SJCOG Board of Directors by visiting the Our Board of Directors web page.