Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf rejoins MTC

Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf last month rejoined MTC after her appointment by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge as HUD’s representative on the Commission. The department’s seat had been vacant since 2021.

Schaaf was the mayor of Oakland from 2015 until January of this year and served as the Oakland Mayor’s appointee to the Commission throughout her mayoral tenure. After serving two four-year terms, Schaaf was ineligible to run for reelection as mayor of her hometown. Schaaf currently is the Interim Executive Director of Emerge California, which recruits and trains Democratic women to run for political office, and teaches at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. She holds Fellowships with Mayors for the Guaranteed Income and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

New mayor Sheng Thao succeeded Schaaf both at Oakland City Hall and on MTC. Before her election as mayor in November 2022, Thao served for four years as the District 4 representative on Oakland’s City Council, becoming the first Hmong-American Councilmember in California history. In the last city budget, she brought the Council together to make historic investments in violence prevention programs while ensuring funding for three new police academies.

Other newly-sworn commissioners include: 

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, San Jose Mayor's appointee. Mahan was elected as Mayor of San José in November 2022 and assumed office in January of this year, when he also named himself to serve as the San Jose Mayor’s appointee to MTC. Mahan served as a teacher through Teach for America before entering the business world, where he founded and grew companies dedicated to empowering neighborhoods and holding government accountable. 

Stephanie Moulton-Peters, representing Marin County and Cities. Moulton-Peters was appointed by her colleagues on the Marin County Board of Supervisors in January of this year to serve as the county’s representative on MTC. Moulton-Peters has represented District 3 on the Board of Supervisors since January 2021 and was elected to serve as Board President for 2023. Before her 2020 election to the Board of Supervisors, Moulton-Peters served for 12 years as a member of the Mill Valley City Council and served as the city’s mayor in 2010, 2014 and 2018. She is a current board member for the Transportation Authority of Marin and the Marin Transit District, and a former member of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART)’s Board of Directors. 

Sue Noack, representing Cities of Contra Costa County.  Appointed to MTC in February of this year, Noack was elected to the Pleasant Hill City Council in 2014 and recently was reelected to her third term. She served as Mayor in 2016 and 2021. Noack’s responsibilities in her City Council role include the Budget Committee, Library Subcommittee, General Plan Advisory Committee, and the board of directors for the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority.