Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: President Noelia Corzo, District 2
Subject: Reappointment to the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans)
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Recommendation for the reappointment of Peter Ratto to the San Mateo County Transit District Board, representing Board Member possessing expertise in the field of transportation, for a fourth term commencing January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2030.
body
BACKGROUND:
The San Mateo County Transit District Board, otherwise known as SamTrans, is made up of nine members consisting of representation from the Board of Supervisors; Public Members (including one from the Coast); Southern, Central, and Northern City Members; and, one member possessing expertise in the field of transportation. Duties of Board Director are to set policy and approve funding for the transit district.
DISCUSSION:
Peter Ratto has served on the Board since 2015 and wishes to be reappointed for a fourth term.
Peter M. (Pete) Ratto was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in February 2015. He retired in March of 2016 after almost forty-five years in the solid waste industry. He began his career “on the trucks” with Golden Gate Disposal Company, now known as Recology Golden Gate, in San Francisco in 1971 while still attending San Francisco State University. Mr. Ratto graduated from San Francisco State in 1976 with a BA degree in Transportation Management and assumed a full-time position at Golden Gate Disposal. A native of San Francisco and a second generation “garbageman,” he served in almost every operational management position within the company. From Route Supervisor to the manager of Golden Gate’s roll-off division, which was one of the largest and highest revenue operations of its kind in the West. Mr. Ratto ended his career as the Manager of Waste and Recycling Systems. During his time in this position at Golden Gate, Mr. Ratto, working with government entities, developers, property owners, architects, and construction contractors, designed and implemented many state-of-the-art refuse and recycling systems throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. After his retirement from Recology Golden Gate, Mr. Ratto operated his own firm, P. M. Ratto Consulting, LLC from 2016 to 2025.
Mr. Ratto is a Past President of both the Downtown Association of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Breakfast Club, where he became a member in 1991. He was a member of the Salvation Army’s San Francisco Metro Advisory Board from 2003 until 2023 and served as its Chair from 2011 to 2015. He also served on the Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center Advisory Council from 1996 until 2025 and was its Chair from 2003 to 2010 and from 2018 to 2025. Mr. Ratto was a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association’s Environment and Sustainability Task Force from 1997 until his retirement and on BOMA’s Building Codes Task Force from 2015 until his retirement as well. Mr. Ratto served on the San Mateo County Transit District’s (SamTrans) Citizens Advisory Committee from 2006 until 2015 and was its Chairman from 2011 to 2015 when he was appointed by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to the Transit Expert seat on the SamTrans Board of Directors. He was elected as that Board’s Chairman in 2022 after serving as Vice Chair for the previous two years. Mr. Ratto represents SamTrans on the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County’s Congestion Management and Environmental Quality Committee and on the American Public Transit Association’s Transit Board Members Committee and its Mobility Management Committee. Mr. Ratto serves as the President of the Scavengers’ Protective Union, a fraternal organization comprised of the former shareholders of Golden Gate Disposal and Sunset Scavenger Companies. The SPU was chartered in 1879 and is the oldest active labor union in San Francisco. Mr. Ratto was a member of the Board of Directors of Norcal Solid Waste Systems prior to its sale to the Norcal ESOP in 1986.
Mr. Ratto was raised in Daly City and has two grown daughters. He currently resides in the city of San Mateo with his Maltese mix dog.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.