Oxnard, CA -- Longtime transit board member and advocate Toni Young passed away on December 16, 2008 following a sudden illness. Mayor Young was a dedicated member of the Gold Coast Transit Board of Directors for 16 years and served three terms as Board chair.

Mayor Young, 56, was first elected to the Port Hueneme City Council in 1992 and became the City’s first woman mayor in 1995. She was serving her fourth term as mayor at the time of her death. She was slated to retire from the City Council on December 17.

In addition to her leadership on the GCT Board, Mayor Young championed a wide array of regional transportation planning and development projects. She was an active member of the Ventura County Transportation Commission and the Southern California Association of Governments, which she led as president in 2005-06.

“There was no one more dedicated to the cause of public transportation in Ventura County than Toni Young,” said Bill Fulton, deputy mayor of Ventura and chair of the GCT Board of Directors.

GCT General Manager Deborah Linehan said Mayor Young was a strong advocate for Port Hueneme residents, especially senior citizens and people with disabilities who depended upon public transit for their personal mobility.

“Above all, Toni was a strong advocate for her city and her constituents. She always remembered that she worked for the citizens of Port Hueneme and she made sure that regional agencies like GCT were working for them too,” said Linehan.

Mayor Young is survived by Otto, her husband of 38 years, and their three grown children.