NJDOT Commissioner
Jack Lettiere
named AASHTO President
(Trenton)
John F. “Jack” Lettiere Jr., Commissioner of the New
Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), has officially begun
his tenure as President of the American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Lettiere is the first President
of the nationally respected organization that hails from the State
of New Jersey and served as AASHTO Vice-President until being
named president. He replaces J. Bryan Nicol, Indiana Department
of Transportation Commissioner, who resigned January 10th.
AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley said, “Commissioner
Lettiere is well-known to the state transportation community,
particularly in his leadership in the strategic planning effort
and in the areas of financial management and planning. As Vice-President,
Lettiere has participated in the weekly conference calls we have
established with AASHTO officers, and so he will move smoothly
to his new position.”
AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association representing highway
and transportation departments in the 50 states, the District
of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
It represents all five transportation modes: air, highways, public
transportation, rail and water. Its primary goal is to foster
the development, operation and maintenance of an integrated national
transportation system. AASHTO is the nation's premier organization
for setting transportation policy direction and transportation
standards. At the present time, Lettiere and AASHTO are focused
on the reauthorization of the federal highway and transit funding
program.
“First and foremost, I want to thank Bryan Nicol for his
years of service to AASHTO and the State of Indiana,” stated
Lettiere. “His leadership and imagination will be sorely
missed. I look forward to fostering the commitment to innovation,
determination, and creativity that has been set forth by Bryan
Nicol.”
Previously, Lettiere served as Chairman of AASHTO’s Administrative
Subcommittee on Transportation Finance and is Region I Representative
of the AASHTO Strategic Plan Task Force. He is also a member and
Vice Chair of the AASHTO Working Group on Financial Issues, which
developed the association’s recommendations for the reauthorization
of the federal program. He also served on the Standing Committee
on Planning and chairs the Local Bridge Initiative Group.
As provided under the AASHTO Bylaws, Lettiere will now complete
the nine months remaining as the AASHTO 2004-2005 President. Also,
Lettiere will seek the recommendation of the AASHTO chief executives
of the next region in rotation, the Southeastern Association of
State Highway and Transportation Officials states, to the name
a new AASHTO Vice-President. That nomination would then be ratified
by vote of the AASHTO Executive Committee.
