Inslee Names Millar to Head Washington State DOT After Senate Ousts Peterson

Roger Millar, formerly deputy secretary at the Washington State Department of Transportation, is now in charge of the agency as acting secretary after the opposition-controlled Senate ousted Secretary Lynn Peterson, Gov. Jay Inslee announced.

The governor’s announcement did not address the nomination process for Peterson’s permanent replacement.

Millar has been the agency’s deputy and chief operating officer since last October. Before that he worked at for five years at Smart Growth America in Washington, D.C., where he directed technical assistance programs for state, regional and local government.

 Millar

His work there included assistance to state transportation agencies in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont.

The governor’s announcement said Millar’s 38 years of experience in transportation includes becoming a fellow in 1999 of the American Society of Civil Engineers. From 2000 to 2014, it said, he served on the ASCE Committee for America’s Infrastructure, which produces the nationally reported “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.”

“WSDOT is fortunate to have Roger, an accomplished engineer and transportation leader, to step up in this pivotal leadership role. Roger is not only an outstanding manager, he’s committed to furthering the innovative work happening throughout WSDOT,” Inslee said.

Peterson was one of three members of Inslee’s cabinet to leave recently under pressure from opposition lawmakers, and the only one directly removed by legislative action. This is the last year of Inslee’s term, and he is up for re-election in November.

Peterson had held the CEO job at WSDOT for three years under the Democratic governor, but the Republican Senate majority had yet to schedule a vote on her confirmation. Although her nomination was supported last year in a committee vote, the full Senate rejected her confirmation on Feb. 5, effectively firing her.

Inslee told reporters on Feb. 8 that Millar had taken the agency’s helm, and announced his appointment on Feb. 10.

Millar reportedly sent WSDOT employees an email message about the changes on Feb. 8. “While we no longer have the benefit of her leadership, we still have jobs to do,” he wrote. “We have highways to maintain, vessels to operate, projects to develop and deliver and relationships to maintain in the communities that we serve.”