A change of leadership is coming to the influential agency responsible for transportation planning across Kern County. Jay Schlosser, the city of Tehachapi’s development services director, will become the eighth executive director of the Kern Council of Governments on June 30. Schlosser will replace Ahron R. Hakimi, who is set to retire this summer. Hakimi, formerly an engineer with Caltrans, became Kern COG’s executive director in 2012. Through a joint powers authority, Kern COG brings together local governments, Golden Empire Transit, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration and other stakeholders.

Kern COG's board of directors, comprised of a mayor or councilmember from each of the county’s 11 incorporated cities plus two county supervisors, voted April 17 to appoint Schlosser to its top position. "We are pleased to have Mr. Schlosser as our next executive director," board Chairman Bob Smith, a Bakersfield city councilman, said in a news release. "His proven experience on the Kern COG Transportation Technical Advisory Committee and with the city of Tehachapi promises a strong future as Kern County faces numerous transportation opportunities and challenges in the next decades."

Second District Supervisor Chris Parlier, whose area includes Tehachapi, and Tehachapi City Councilman Phil Smith are among members of the board.  “I look forward to working with Jay as the executive director,” Phil Smith, the longest-serving member of the Kern COG board, said in a brief interview Thursday morning. “He has demonstrated a superior work ethic. With so many accomplishments, he will be hard to replace.”