At their January 6th meeting, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Governing Board voted unanimously to elect former California State Senator Vanessa Delgado as Chair and former Mayor of South Pasadena, Michael Cacciotti as Vice Chair. Their first Governing Board meeting in their new positions was on March 3, 2023.

The election was held to fill the chair position being vacated by Ben J. Benoit, Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Wildomar, who will be leaving the board to assume new duties as Riverside County’s Auditor-Controller. Delgado is vacating the Vice Chair position for the Chair position.

Delgado was appointed to South Coast AQMD’s Governing Board in May 2019 as the Senate Rules Committee’s representative. She has served as Vice Chair of the Governing Board since May 2021. She is the first Latina to chair the Governing Board in its 47-year history.

Cacciotti joined the Governing Board in 2008 as the Cities of Los Angeles County, Eastern Region appointee. Additionally, he serves on the South Pasadena City Council and was a deputy attorney general with the State of California Department of Justice for nearly 20 years from 2001-2020. Previously, he was a deputy state attorney with the California Department of Transportation.

For more information, visit our Governing Board webpage.