Peters, Mary E.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation

B orn December 4, 1948, in Phoenix, AZ; married Terry Peters, July, 1966; children: Tammy, Terry, Tina. Education: University of Phoenix, B.A.; attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for State and Local Government Executives.

Addresses: Contact—U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590.

Career

C ontract administrator, then deputy director for administration, Arizona Department of Transportation, 1985-98; director, Arizona Department of Transportation, 1998-2001; administrator, Federal Highway Administration, 2001-05; national director of transportation policy for HDR, Inc., Phoenix, AZ, 2005-06; Secretary of Transportation, U.S. government, 2006—.

Member: Chair, Highway Expansion Loan Program Advisory Board, c. 1998-2001; reauthorization steering committee, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), 2001; co-vice chairwoman, National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, 2006; chair, Standing Committee on Planning and the Asset Management Task Force for the AASHTO; board of directors, Arizona Quality Alliance; board of directors, Intelligent Transportation Society of America; board of directors, Project Challenge; board of directors, Women Executives in State Government; Governer’s Diversity Advisory Council; Greater Arizona Development Authority; Women’s Transportation Seminar.

Awards: Top 100 Who’s Who of Arizona Women in Business; most influential person in Arizon transportation, Arizona Business Journal; person of the year award, Women’s Transportation Seminar— Phoenix Chapter, 1994; national woman of the year, Women’s Transportation Seminar, 2004; ARTBA award, American Road and Transportation Builders Association, 2005.

Sidelights

A fter serving as the Director of the Arizona Department of Transportation and as the 15th Federal Highway Administrator, Mary E. Peters was confirmed as the 15th Secretary of Transportation in 2006. As a member of President George W. Bush’s Cabinet, Peters is responsible for transportation in the United States, from maritime and air to surface transit. Along with the goal of making travel safer, in whatever venue, Peters and her department are responsible for allocating taxpayer dollars to create reliable and efficient transportation structure.

A fourth-generation Arizona native, Peters attended the University of Phoenix for her bachelor’s degree. From 1985 through 2001, she worked in the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT). She began her career as a contract administrator, but climbed the ranks, moving to deputy director for administration, then deputy director. She was appointed director of the agency by then Arizona Governor Jane Hull in 1998. While in that position, she managed to accelerate work on the freeway system in Arizona’s Valley, and the project was completed seven years ahead of schedule. “At ADOT she established a reputation as an effective manager, working collaboratively with local governments and other partners,” wrote a contributor to M2 Presswire. During her tenure as Director, Arizona Business Journal recognized Peters as the Most Influential Person in Arizona Transportation.

In 2001, Peters was appointed the 15th Federal Highway Administrator, making her the first woman to hold that position. Peters focused her vision on making highways safer, enhancing crash prevention technologies and providing support for community-based programs. Peters also made inroads in finding more efficient methods of funding bridge and highway projects, seeking out private sector investment to supplement taxpayer funds. M2 Presswire quoted Mary Jane O’Meara, president of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, describing Peters as “a consummate professional who has achieved great success and yet is extremely gracious and generous with her time.” Peters received the Women’s Transportation Seminar’s 2004 National Woman of the Year Award. Then Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta said of her work in M2 Presswire, “Mary has left a lasting impression on the history of surface transportation. She has made us all think about the future of surface transportation in ways we might not have otherwise.”

Peters left the Federal Highway Administration in July of 2005 to pursue work in the private sector, taking a position with HDR, Inc., an engineering firm based out of Phoenix, Arizona. It was not long, however, before she would make a return to Washington, D.C., when Bush nominated her to fill the position of Secretary of Transportation. “Mary Peters is the right person for this job,” Bush was quoted as saying by the Washington Times. “She brings a lifetime of experience on transportation issues, from both the private and public sectors.” When she was confirmed into the position by the Senate, Peters became the second woman to hold the position, and she pledged to update the transportation system. “The top of the list always is making travel safer,” she said during her speech after she was sworn into office. “But we also want to work to improve the system performance and reliability and to find 21st-century solutions for 21st-century transportation challenges.” She continued, “I am committed to making sure that all the resources of the department are used to deliver: to make our roads safer, to do everything we can to ensure that our skies, highways, ports and rails are free of traffic congestion.”

As the Secretary of Transportation, Peters sought to improve spending, much like she had at the Federal Highway Administration. She proposed public-private partnerships to more than 150 business executives in a transportation symposium in early 2007. This idea would be a change from the typical state-federal collaboration for most transportation funding, removing some of the burden from taxpayers. Peters argued that government funds could no longer handle the transportation demands. “For many years, transportation was government-planned and government-made,” she was quoted as having said in Logistics Management. “Transportation is a business. If we treat it as a business, maybe it can become a source of growth in America, rather than a source of irritation.”

Though Peters is known for her work improving the safety of highways and bridges, she did not foresee the tragedy that struck Minnesota when the I-35 bridge collapsed in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007. Peters responded with funding and with a call out to all states to inspect all steel arch truss bridges similar in construction to the I-35 bridge, but could offer no explanation as to why the collapse occurred. Peters also became the center of controversy when she was criticized by the Teamsters Union for allowing unsafe Mexican trucks to cross over the U.S. border. Though the cross-border strategy was intended to allow American truckers to compete in a Mexican market, the safety hazards brought by the Mexican vehicles, which are not subject to the same inspections as American vehicles, gave critics a cause for concern. “The public has a right to know exactly how the DOT plans to ensure the safety and security of those who drive on our highways,” Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, stated in the Journal of Commerce.

Beyond these difficulties, Peters alienated bicyclists by not considering bicycling under the jurisdiction of transportation. In an interview on PBS’s News-Hour, Peters said that much of the earmarked money intended to go toward transportation improvements instead went to other causes. “There are museums that are being built with that money, bike paths, trails, repairing lighthouses. Those are some of the kind of things that that money is being spent on, as opposed to our infrastructure.” Those who argue that bike paths and lanes help to ease traffic congestion were frustrated with Peters’ remarks.

Along with her work on the President’s Cabinet, Peters is interested in transportation for another reason: She is an avid motorcyclist. As Secretary of Transportation, Peters visited the Harley-Davidson plant in Malwaukee, Wisconsin, and discussed the rise in fatalities in motorcycle accidents: deaths that could have been prevented had the riders been wearing helmets. While clear that the federal government would not mandate helmet laws, as that was under the jurisdiction of the individual states, she implored motorcyclists to wear helmets. Peters was in an accident herself in 2005, and she credits wearing her helmet with keeping her from sustaining serious injuries.

Peters has also been known to have fun with her position. In December of 2006, she released a statement that Santa, who was making an effort to be more environmentally friendly, would be flying in a hydrogen-powered sleigh that year. The release stated that Peters and members of the Department’s Research and Innovative Administration Holiday Team had inspected the sleigh and signed a Hydrogen Prototype Vehicle Waiver authorizing Santa to make his deliveries through U.S. airspace. “Santa’s new sleigh guarantees on-time delivery of toys to millions of good girls and boys,” a contributor reported in M2 Presswire.

Sources

Books

Carroll’s Federal Directory, Carroll Publishing, 2007.

Periodicals

Journal of Commerce, May 7, 2007, p. 30.

Logistics Management (Highlands Ranch, CO), March 1, 2007, p. 20

M2 Presswire, December 24, 2003; May 28, 2004; December 21, 2006; August 3, 2007.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, October 27, 2006.

Nation’s Cities Weekly, February 19, 2007, pp. 1-2.

Political/Congressional Transcript Wire, October 17, 2006.

Washington Post, September 6, 2006, p. A13.

Washington Times, September 6, 2006, p. A6.

Online

“Mary E. Peters,” Federal Highway Administration, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/administrators/mpeters.htm (February 22, 2008).

“Mary E. Peters, Secretary of Transportation,” U.S. Department of Transportation, http://www.dot.gov/bios/peters.htm (February 22, 2008).

“Transportation Secretary Discusses Concerns about National Infrastruction,” PBS: Online NewsHour, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/transportation/july-dec07/infrastructure_08-15.html/ (February 22, 2008).

—Alana Joli Abbott