January 5, 2009
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| THE SOURCE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEWS AND ANALYSIS |
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Paul Weyrich Dies; Conservative Icon, Great Friend of Public Transit
Paul Weyrich, one of the giants of the modern conservative movement and a strong supporter of public transportation, died Dec. 18 at age 66. He was the chair and chief executive officer of the Free Congress Foundation, co-founder and first president of the Heritage Foundation, and the pioneer in using grassroots direct-mail fundraising campaigns for conservative politicians and social causes.
Weyrich was a longtime friend and ally of APTA, authoring numerous reports on transit-related topics released under the Free Congress Foundation banner. He introduced the first report in the series, Conservatives and Mass Transit: Is It Time for a New Look?, at the 1996 APTA Legislative Conference in Washington.
Most recently, Weyrich was a member of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, which released its Transportation for Tomorrow report on Jan. 15, 2008. He was also publisher of the New Electric Railway Journal and a former member of the Amtrak Board of Directors.
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