A Guide to the Records of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, 1995; 2002-2010 Transportation, Secretary of, Records, 1995; 2002-2010 44688 and 53730

A Guide to the Records of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, 1995; 2002-2010

A Collection in
the Library of Virginia
Accession Number 44688 and 53730


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Library of Virginia

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© 2019 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.

Processed by: Paige Neal; Series V. processed by Roger Christman in October 2022.

Repository
The Library of Virginia
Accession Number
44688 and 53730
Title
Records of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, 1995; 2002-2010
Extent
20.3 cubic feet (58 Boxes)
Creator
Virginia Secretary of Transportation
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Restricted documents have been sealed within the collection.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Records of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation, 1995; 2002-2010. Accession 44688 and 53730, State government records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.

Acquisition Information

Accession 44688 transferred from the Virginia Secretary of Transportation on 14 January 2010. Accession 53730 was found in a file cabinet in the Patrick Henry Building by the Youngkin administration and transferred from the Office of the Governor on 29 September 2022.

Processing Information

Accession 44688 was processed by Paige Neal in 2019. Accession 53730 was processed by Roger Christman in October 2022. Series V. Files of Deputy Secretary of Transportation Barbara Reese were, for the most part, in no recognizable order. The processing archivist arranged them by project.

Historical Information

In 1970, the Governor's Management Commission Study recommended the creation of six "Deputy Governors" to assist the Chief Executive in his managerial duties. Compatible functions of government were grouped under these administrative heads, who would serve as the Governors top management team or "secretariats," as they are called now.

Governor Linwood Holton's top priority for the 1972 session of the General Assembly was a proposal for a Governor's Cabinet, reorganizing state agencies into six major departments--each headed by a secretary appointed by the governor. Transportation and public safety was one of these six departments. The office of Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was created on April 8, 1972, by an act passed by the General Assembly. Governor Holton appointed Wayne A. Whitham, a member of the Winchester City Council, as the first Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety. When Whitham took office on July 1, 1972, he was responsible for State Highway Commission, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of State Police, Highway Safety Division, Office of Emergency Services, Department of Military Affairs, Virginia State Crime Commission and the Law Enforcement Officers Training Standards Commission. The Office has undergone a series of administrative reorganizations since. On April 12, 1976, the Legislature established separate secretariats for transportation and for public safety, effective July 1, 1976. On July 1, 1984, the offices were again combined. Most recently, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was divided into separate secretariats on February 22, 1990. The Secretary of Transportation is a member of the Governor's Cabinet, and is appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Secretary is responsible to the governor for the Department of Transportation, Department of Rail and Public Transportation, Department of Aviation, Department of Motor Vehicles, Virginia Port Authority and the Motor Vehicle Dealers Board.

Wayne A. Whitham, the first Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety, was reappointed by Governor-elect Miles E. Godwin, Jr., in December 1973 and by Governor-elect John N. Dalton in December 1977. Whitham suffered a heart attack in August 1978 and resigned in December 1978. On June 7, 1984, Whitham died in Richmond, Virginia. Governor Dalton named George M. Walters, a former top executive of the Reynolds Metals Corporation, to succeed Whitham as Secretary of Transportation. Walters served until the end of Dalton's term in January 1982. Governor-elect Charles S. Robb, the first Democrat to be elected governor since 1965, did not retain any of Dalton's cabinet secretaries. Robb appointed Andrew B. Fogarty, Dalton's assistant secretary for financial policy, as Secretary of Transportation. On July 1, 1984, the secretariats of transportation and public safety were combined again. As a result this partial reorganization of state government, Governor Robb appointed Fogarty Secretary of Administration and Franklin E. White, Secretary of Public Safety, assumed Fogarty's Transportation duties. White, who served as a White House liaison official under President Jimmy Carter, resigned in June 1985 to become the New York state commissioner of transportation. He was replaced by Andrew Fogarty who served until the end of the Robb administration. He later served as Governor Gerald L. Baliles chief of staff from August 1986 to October 1989 when he resigned to become a vice president with CSX Corporation.

In December 1985, Governor-elect Gerald L. Baliles, picked Vivian E. Watts, a northern Virginia legislator, as Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety. Watts served until the end of Baliles' term in 1990. In 1995 she was elected to her old seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. On February 22, 1990, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety was divided into separate secretariats. Governor L. Douglas Wilder, appointed John G. Milliken, a member of the Arlington County Board of Supervisors, as the Secretary of Transportation. Milliken resigned on December 17, 1993.

In February 1994 Governor George Allen, the first Republican elected governor since 1977, appointed Robert Martinez as Secretary of Transportation. Martinez was born in Cuba and had served as Deputy Administrator for the Marine Administration and Associate Deputy Secretary of Transportation during President George H. W. Bush's administration. At the end of Governor Allen's term in January 1998, Martinez joined the Norfolk Southern Corporation. Shirley Ybarra, deputy Secretary of Transportation in the Allen administration, was named Martinez's successor by Governor-elect James Gilmore. Ybarra previously worked as a special assistant to Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole during President Ronald Reagan's administration. Ybarra served until the end of Gilmore's administration in January 2002. Whittington W. Clement, a former lawyer and long-time member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the City of Danville, was appointed Secretary of Transportation by Governor Mark R. Warner in 2002. Pierce R. Homer, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, replaced Clement in 2005.

Pierce R. Homer was reappointed Virginia's Secretary of Transportation by Governor Timothy Kaine on 5 January 2006, having also served as Secretary of Transportation under Governor Warner. Prior to his appointment as Secretary, Homer served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation with functional oversight of the Virginia Department of Transportation, private partnership programs, and technology investments. As Deputy Secretary, he worked with the transportation agencies to develop and implement uniform cost and revenue estimating, debt management, and accountability measures.

Scope and Content

The Secretary of Transportation records consist of 58 archival boxes and are divided into 5 series. Series have been designated for Appointment Calendars (I), Constituent Correspondence (II), Legislative Files (III), Special Projects and Studies (IV) and Files of Deputy Secretary of Transportation Barbara Reese (V). These records document the work of the Secretary of Transportation during the Kaine administration and were created or collected, 2006-2009, though some documents in this collection pre-date this time period.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Series I. Appointment Calendars, 2007-2010 (bulk 2008-2009) Series II. Constituent Correspondence, 2005-2009 (bulk 2006-2009) Series III. Legislative Files, 2002-2008 (bulk 2006-2008) Series IV. Special Projects and studies, 2001-2009 (2006-2009) Series V. Files of Deputy Secretary of Transportation Barbara Reese, 1995; 2002-2008

Contents List

Series I. Appointment Calendars, 2007-2010 (bulk 2008-2009) .
Boxes 1
Extent: 1 box.

Appointment Calendars, 2007-2010, are housed in 1 archival box and are arranged chronologically. This series consists of computer generated calendar sheets documenting the appointments of Pierce R. Homer, Secretary of Transportation. The calendar sheets list daily activities, including meetings and other events such as conferences, receptions, and speaking engagements.

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Series II. Constituent Correspondence , 2005-2009 (bulk 2006-2009) .
Boxes 2-19
Extent: 18 boxes.

Constituent Correspondence, 2005-2009 (bulk 2006-2009), is housed in 18 archival boxes and is arranged chronologically. This series documents correspondence received by the Secretary of Transportation during Governor Timothy Kaine's administration. The majority of this correspondence is addressed directly to Secretary Homer and includes the original letter as well as a copy of the response. Also includes correspondence referred from the Governor's Office for response, correspondence referred to agencies for response, courtesy copies of correspondence, and printed emails. Correspondence may include attachments, such as presentations and reports. This correspondence covers topics including legislation, transportation funding, traffic congestion, transportation priorities, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA - 2009 Federal stimulus), Public Private Partnerships, Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project and Dulles Toll Road/MWAA, Gray v. Secretary of Transportation, et al., HB 3202 implementation, Virginia Dept. of Rail and Public Transportation, urban development, and road maintenance, as well as many others.

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Series III. Legislative Files , 2006-2008 (2002-2008) .
Boxes 20-27
Extent: 8 boxes.

Legislative Files, 2006-2008, are housed in 8 archival boxes and organized into 3 subseries for: I. Transportation legislation and funding, 2006-2007; II. Transportation Bill (HB 3202), 2007; and III. Transportation Special Session, 2008. This series focuses on Governor Kaine's transportation priorities and plans, funding and projects. Includes correspondence, budgets, legislation, draft legislation, presentations, reports, revenue data, statistical analyses, summaries, and talking points.

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Series IV. Special Projects and Studies , 2001-2009 (bulk 2006-2009) .
Boxes 28-52
Extent: 25 boxes.

Special Projects and Studies, 2001-2009 (bulk 2006-2009), are housed in 25 archival boxes and organized into 10 subseries. Subseries are designated for Access Management Regulations (I); American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (II); Virginia Dept. of Aviation (III); Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) (IV); Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project (V); Loudoun County Pilot Project (VI); Secondary Street Acceptance Requirements (VII); Traffic Impact Analysis Study (VIII); Virginia Dept. of Transportation Reorganization (IX); and Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project (X).

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Series V. Files of Deputy Secretary of Transportation Barbara Reese (Accession 53730), 1995; 2002-2008 .
Boxes 1-6
Extent: 2.1 cubic feet (6 boxes).

The Files of Deputy Secretary of Transportation Barbara Reese, 1995, 2002-2008, are housed in 6 archival boxes and organized by project: Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project, Dulles Toll Road, I-495 HOT Lanes, and Transportation Bill (HB 3202). This series includes correspondence, budgets, email, legislation, draft legislation, memorandums, notes, presentations, project files, reports, revenue data, statistical analyses, summaries, and talking points. See also Series III. Legislative Files for more information on Transportation Bill (HB 3202) and Series IV. Special Projects and Studies for more information on the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project.

Barbara Reese served as Deputy Secretary of Transportation from July 2007 to January 2009. During her tenure, Reese was the chief public negotiator for the I-495 HOT Lanes Project, a Public Private Transportation Act (PPTA) project to build toll lanes on the Capital Beltway. Reese was also the project director for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. The Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project was approved in 2002 to build a 23 mile extension of Washington's existing Metrorail System to run from East Falls Church, through Tyson's Corner to Reston (Phase 1), and then on to Dulles International Airport and on to Loudoun County (Phase 2). This rail line is intended to provide high-capacity transit service along the Dulles corridor and between the corridor and downtown Washington. Project partners include Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), Fairfax County, Town of Herndon and Loudoun County. In 2006, the Commonwealth of Virginia entered into an agreement with the MWAA to assume the Commonwealth's responsibility for operating the Dulles Toll Road and its responsibility for financing and building the Dulles Corridor Metrorail. Finally, Reese oversaw the implementation of HB 3202 (2007), legislation focused on transportation funding and reform and provided for statewide funding of transportation projects; gave authority to localities in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads to impose additional fees for transportation; made several administrative and efficiency reforms impacting transportation; and authorized the Commonwealth Transportation Board to issue bonds for statewide transportation funding. The proposed legislation also recommended changes to land use requirements; local responsibility for maintenance and construction of transportation infrastructure; and environmental permitting.

Barbara Reese served as Deputy Policy Director from January 2009 to January 2010. Reese lead the implementation of Virginia's $5 billion share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act including program and project design, implementation, reporting, and auditing. She also directed Virginia's $2 billion High Speed Rail Program and federal application process. Reese served as Legislative Director following the departure of Suzette Denslow in January 2009. Before joining the Kaine administration in 2007, Reese served as the chief financial officer for the Virginia Department of Transportation.

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