Mary Peters (politician)

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Mary Peters
15th United States Secretary of Transportation
Incumbent
Assumed office  October 17, 2006
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Norman Mineta
Born	December 4, 1948 (1948-12-04) (age 59) Phoenix, Arizona
Political party	Republican

Mary E. Peters (b. December 4, 1948) is the United States Secretary of Transportation. She is the second woman and first Arizonan to hold the position^{[citation needed]}.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Public service career 3 Arizona Gubernatorial election speculation 4 Private sector career 5 Transportation Secretary 6 Policies 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Early life

Mary Peters was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and earned her bachelor's degree in management from University of Phoenix.

[edit] Public service career

Mary Peters joined the Arizona Department of Transportation in 1985,and was appointed by Gov. Jane Dee Hull to serve as its director from 1998 to 2001. After George W. Bush was elected president, she left for Washington to work as the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. She worked in that capacity until 2005. In 2006, President Bush appointed Peters as the Co-Vice Chairwoman of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.^[1]

[edit] Arizona Gubernatorial election speculation

In 2005, there was speculation that Peters would run for governor in 2006. At the time, however, she said, while she believed she would have been a strong candidate, and was eligible to run despite having lived and registered to vote in Virginia, that the issue would have been a distraction from the race.^[2][3]

[edit] Private sector career

From November, 2005 until her confirmation as Transportation Secretary, Peters served as the Senior Vice President and National Director of Transportation Policy and Consulting in the Phoenix office of HDR, Inc., an Omaha-based architectural, engineering, and consulting firm.

[edit] Transportation Secretary

On September 5, 2006, Bush nominated Peters to replace Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. office.^[4] She was confirmed on September 29, 2006 by the United States Senate.^[5][6]

[edit] Policies

Peters is an advocate of private investment in U.S. public roads and of user fees for building new highways. In an interview, Peters said that the National Highway System will run out of money by decade's end without substantial changes and, rather than raise taxes, some states are turning to toll roads already to fill gaps.

On February 7, 2008 the Teamsters Union^[7] launched www.firemarypeters.com^[8] in protest of Peters' decision to open the U.S.-Mexico border to allegedly unsafe Mexican trucks despite a new law barring funds from being used for that program. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) sponsored the legislation in the Senate and will hold hearings to consider whether or not Peters is in violation of the antideficiency act for her actions. ^[9].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• DOT – official bio
• Biography at the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission

Preceded by Norman Mineta	United States Secretary of Transportation Served Under: George W. Bush 2006 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Steve Preston	United States Presidential Line of Succession 12th in line	Succeeded by Samuel Bodman
Preceded by Steve Preston	United States order of precedence as of 2008	Succeeded by Samuel Bodman

v • d • e United States Secretaries of Transportation Boyd • Volpe • Brinegar • Coleman • Adams • Goldschmidt • Lewis • Dole • Burnley • Skinner • Card • Peña • Slater • Mineta • Peters

v • d • e Current members of the United States Cabinet Bodman · Boltenc · Bushc · Chao · Cheneyc · Chertoff · Gates · Gutierrez · Johnsonc · Kempthorne · Leavitt · Mukasey · Paulson · Peake · Peters · Preston · Nusslec · Rice · Schafer · Schwabc · Spellings · Waltersc (c) cabinet-level only, (a) acting

v • d • e Cabinet of President George W. Bush (2001 – 2009) Secretary of State Colin Powell (2001 – 2005) • Condoleezza Rice (2005 – present) Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neill (2001 – 2002) • John Snow (2002 – 2006) • Henry Paulson (2006 – present) Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (2001 – 2006) • Robert Gates (2006 – present) Attorney General John Ashcroft (2001 – 2005) • Alberto Gonzales (2005 – 2007) • Michael Mukasey (2007 – present) Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton (2001 – 2006) • Dirk Kempthorne (2006 – present) Secretary of the Agriculture Ann Veneman (2001 – 2005) • Mike Johanns (2005 – 2007) • Ed Schafer (2008 – present) Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans (2001 – 2005) • Carlos Gutierrez (2005 – present) Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao (2001 – present) Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson (2001 – 2005) • Mike Leavitt (2005 – present) Secretary of Education Rod Paige (2001 – 2005) • Margaret Spellings (2005 – Present) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez (2001 – 2003) • Alphonso Jackson (2003 – 2008) • Steve Preston (2008 – present) Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta (2001 – 2006) • Mary Peters (2006 – present) Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham (2001 – 2005) • Samuel Bodman (2005 – present) Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi (2001 – 2005) • Jim Nicholson (2005 – 2007) • James Peake (2007 – present) Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge (2003 – 2005) • Michael Chertoff (2005 – present) Chief of Staff Andrew Card (2001 – 2006) • Joshua Bolten (2006 – present) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Christine Todd Whitman (2001 – 2003) • Mike Leavitt (2003 – 2005) • Stephen Johnson (2005 – present) Trade Representative Robert Zoellick (2001 – 2005) • Rob Portman (2005 – 2006) • Susan Schwab (2006 - present)

Persondata
NAME	Peters, Mary E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	15th United States Secretary of Transportation
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH	Arizona, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH