In this episode of Inside Pima County, Supervisor Rex Scott is joined by Mike Ortega, Executive Director of the Pima Association of Governments (PAG) and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA). The conversation focuses on how regional transportation planning is structured in Pima County and Southern Arizona, and the respective roles of PAG, the RTA, and their governing boards. Ortega begins by outlining his professional background in engineering and public service, including prior roles with Pima County, the Arizona Department of Transportation, Cochise County, and the City of Tucson. He discusses how his engineering training informs his approach to managing complex public-sector projects and explains how technical analysis is applied to long-term transportation planning. The episode provides an overview of PAG’s function as the region’s met ...