T4America Blog

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx confirmed as U.S. DOT Secretary

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the confirmation of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation today, Transportation for America Director James Corless issued this statement:

“Mayor Foxx is sure to be a worthy successor to Ray LaHood, who himself has been one of the best transportation secretaries in memory. We are delighted to see a mayor of one of our up-and-coming economic centers selected to provide national leadership in implementing MAP-21 and laying the groundwork for the adoption next year of what we hope will be a rejuvenated national program. Under Mayor Foxx, Charlotte has become a leader in embracing transportation innovations and high-quality, public transportation as key building blocks of a prosperous economy, and we are glad to see him bring that knowledge to his federal role.

Given that our major metro areas have more structurally deficient bridges than McDonald’s restaurants in the entire country, we hope the new secretary will make a priority of repair to our aging infrastructure. As the elected head of a major city, Mayor Foxx is more likely than most to understand the issues facing localities and states, which are struggling to meet the needs of a changing population in the wake of a long recession. We wish him well as he assumes his national role, and we look forward to working with him.”