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Major Changes at Commission

The Taxi Commission may be in its waning months as plans to merge it into the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) move forward, but changes are taking place nonetheless.

Commissioners Malcolm Heinicke and Bruce Oka have resigned from the commission and have been appointed to the MTA board. Mayor Gavin Newsom's third choice for the board, Jerry Lee, is also familiar with the taxi industry, having chaired Mayor Art Agnos's Taxi Task Force in 1989-90.

Heinicke was replaced by James (Jamie) Slaughter, like his predecessor an attorney. He's an experienced hand at San Francisco politics, having worked on a number of local campaigns. A resident of the Richmond District, he takes the commission's neighborhood representative seat.

At the start of his new term in office in early January, Newsom announced that Deputy Director Jordanna Thigpen would become the commission's Executive Director. Heidi Machen, who has been the director for the past 2 1/2 years, has remained on in the position for the time being.