January 5, 2009
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| THE SOURCE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEWS AND ANALYSIS |
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LaHood Chosen as Next DOT Secretary
 President-elect Barack Obama introduced his nominee for U.S. secretary of transportation, outgoing U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL), on Dec. 19 in Chicago, placing in the hands of the 63-year-old grandson of a Lebanese immigrant and the son of a restaurant manager what may become one of the higher-profile jobs in Obama’s cabinet: overseeing the enormous public works program Obama has already begun detailing to turn around the nation’s economy.
During the campaign, Obama promised to make significant investments of federal spending on infrastructure projects to combat unemployment. He said he would like to see high-speed rail linking Chicago with Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and other cities. In addition, he has promised to support Chicago’s bid for the 2012 Olympics, an effort that will require a massive modernizing of the city’s rapid transit system.
“Now we need to remake our transportation system for the 21st century,” Obama said. “Doing so will not only help us meet our energy challenge by building more efficient cars, buses, and subways or make Americans safer by rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges—it will create millions of new jobs in the process.” As transportation secretary, LaHood will be the key driver in advancing those and other initiatives.
“Few understand our infrastructure challenge better than the outstanding public servant that I'm asking to lead the Department of Transportation, Ray LaHood,” said Obama. “Throughout his career, Ray has fought to improve mass transit and invest in our highways.”
LaHood, whose district includes Peoria, said he shares Obama’s philosophy on infrastructure, adding that Obama’s “agenda for the Department of Transportation is my agenda.” During his tenure in Congress, LaHood worked extensively with state and local leaders to improve the infrastructure of Illinois; he served six years on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Tom Lucek, general manager of CityLink in Peoria, commented on LaHood’s support for public transit in the city and throughout the state. “I know from my short tenure here—he calls me personally on the phone, doesn’t have his aides do it—he was very supportive of our multi-modal transportation center downtown with our child care center. He was the backer behind that,” he said.
Lucek recalled LaHood’s support when CityLink decided to make a commercial about how taking public transit reduced a person’s carbon footprint, including photos of several people riding the bus and saying, “I’m one of them.” “Ray made a special trip to Peoria to be part of the commercial,” he said. “For a U.S. Congressman, taking the time to come here to make the commercial—and show his support for transit by taking the bus—is a real positive thing.”
In the past, Lucek said, public transit has not necessarily been a priority of the U.S. secretary of transportation, and this time around “it’s good to have a DOT secretary who is supportive of transit." William L. Volk, managing director of the Champagne-Urbana Mass Transit District and chair of the APTA Legislative Committee, described the extensive interaction between the Illinois Public Transit Association and LaHood. “He’s been very supportive of downstate transit,” Volk said. “I think he’ll be very multi-modal; he’s been very supportive of Amtrak and public transit. I don’t think there’s any mode bias.”
Volk suggested that LaHood will be “a team player. If there’s going to be a change in how things are funded, LaHood will be working with the Administration in terms of carrying out their priorities.” Personally, he added, LaHood is “a very approachable guy. He’s fair-minded, and he’s a decent human being—a good quality to have. Parties won’t be a factor with him; he’s not an ideologue.”
LaHood has made clear his philosophy about the importance of transportation. “I understand firsthand what good infrastructure and transportation means to communities and understand it is the local folks who know best their transportation needs,” he said. “I will bring that same approach to the Department of Transportation.”
He continued: “We have a task before us to rebuild America. As a nation, we need to continue to be the world leader in infrastructure development. Amtrak, mass transit, light rail, air travel, and our roads and bridges all play a vital role in our economy and our well-being as a nation. We cannot stand by while our infrastructure ages and crumbles.”
“Ray’s appointment reflects that bipartisan spirit—a spirit we need to reclaim in this country to make progress for the American people,” Obama said.
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