AASHTO Journal, 11 September 2015
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin appointed Chris Cole to lead the Agency of Transportation, as Sue Minter resigned as transportation secretary to run for governor in the 2016 election.
Minter submitted her resignation Sept. 10, effective at the end of Sept. 11. Shumlin announced her departure and the promotion of Deputy Secretary Cole to the CEO role at VTrans, and said a search was under way to replace Cole as deputy.
From left: Cole, Minter, Shumlin last November. Photo/VTrans Some rights reserved.Minter and Cole stepped into the top two VTrans jobs on Jan. 1, with the planned retirement of former secretary Brian Searles. Shumlin announced their appointments last Nov. 17.
Before he became deputy secretary, Cole had been director of the agency’s Policy, Planning and Intermodal Development Division since 2011. From 2001 to 2011 he was general manager at the Chittenden County Transportation Authority, which serves about half the state’s population.
Here is his full biography from the VTrans website.
Shumlin said Cole “has a long history working on transportation in Vermont.” Before his work at VTrans and the CCTC, Shumlin noted that Cole had worked for the Vermont Legislature as a fiscal analyst and earlier was a New York legislative policy analyst in areas including transportation and environmental issues.
“While we’re sad to lose Sue, we could not have found someone more ready to step in and continue the good work being done at VTrans,” Shumlin said. “Chris has been a key leader at VTrans since 2011, and we’re lucky to have someone with his experience stepping into the top job.”
Minter, who joined the agency as deputy secretary in 2011, said in her resignation letter that “leading the Agency of Transportation over the past five years has been the greatest highlight of my career.”
During that period, she said, “we have reduced by half the percentage of structurally deficient state bridges, improved the quality of our roads, expanded our public transit and rail ridership, and enhanced our aviation assets. All of these investments have provided greater safety and mobility for Vermonters, and also strengthened the state’s economy.”
Shumlin said Minter had been “an invaluable asset to the state” and “I wish her all the best.”
His announcement said she also served as Vermont’s recovery officer after Hurricane Irene, responsible for implementation of all recovery and resilience activities following the storm. Given that, the governor asked Minter to lead a team to assist Colorado following its severe mountain flooding in September 2013.
Minter also has elective office experience, having spent six years as a Vermont legislator.
WRPT News reported that while she had been considering the governor’s race for months she only made a final decision in recent days and would not begin organizing that effort until leaving VTrans.