New director of Riverside County Transportation Commission to take helm in May

A longtime employee of the Riverside County Transportation Commission whose past duties have included a variety of projects and tasks will be taking over as the agency’s executive director next year.

Aaron Hake of Norco was selected by RCTC’s Executive Committee last week to take the seat coming vacant with the pending retirement of Anne Mayer.

She is due to leave on May 1, at which point Hake will officially assume the executive director position, officials said.

“Throughout Aaron’s 17 years of service to RCTC, his leadership and effectiveness has resulted in major wins for our region, from funding for major infrastructure projects to passage or defeat of key legislation,” RCTC Chairman Robert Magee said.

“Aaron’s credibility and deep knowledge of Riverside County and transportation policy in this era of change will be invaluable as we work to deliver the transportation infrastructure we know this county needs.”

Hake, who is currently serving as RCTC’s deputy executive director, said that he was “humbled” by the committee’s unanimous vote to appoint him.

“Having lived in Riverside County nearly my entire life and raising a family here, I know the value of a quality transportation system and maintaining open space to our residents,” he said. “Every day, residents and businesses depend on our unrelenting effort to deliver improved regional transportation. I am committed to serving our communities with integrity, finding solutions together and advocating for projects that make life better in Riverside County.”

Hake was hired by Transportation Commission in 2006, working in an advocacy position which netted funding for improvement projects on the Riverside (91) Freeway and Interstate 15.

In 2016, he was upped to director of external affairs, and in 2021, he became deputy executive director of the county’s Regional Conservation Authority, which is under the RCTC umbrella, focusing on habitat preservation projects.

Lake Elsinore Mayor Natasha Johnson said in a statement that his contributions there included accelerating “habitat conservation by implementing streamlined approaches, collaborating with stakeholders and successfully securing more state and federal funding.”

Last year, Hake was promoted to deputy executive director of RCTC, managing multimodal and express lanes operations, as well as external affairs.

The commission has about 80 people on staff and an annual budget of $1 billion.

It is independent of county government and was established as the steward of Measure A transportation revenue, derived from a half-cent countywide sales tax dedicated to local projects since the mid 1990s.

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