Mary E. Peters (born December 4, 1948) is an American government official who served as the 15th

United States secretary of transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

from 2006 to 2009, under President George W. Bush. She was the second woman to hold that position after Elizabeth Dole.

Early life and education

Peters was born in Peoria, Arizona. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Phoenix and went to a three week seminar at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. When Peters was six, her parents divorced. Her father raised Mary and her three siblings in Phoenix, Arizona.

Career

Peters joined the

Arizona Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, pronounced "A-Dot") is an Arizona state government agency charged with facilitating mobility within the state. In addition to managing the state's state highways, highway system, the agency is also i ...

in 1985, and was appointed by Gov. Jane Dee Hull to serve as its director in 1998., United States Department of Transportation website. (archived 2008) After George W. Bush took office as president in 2001, Peters left for Washington to work as the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. She worked in that capacity until 2005. In 2005, there was speculation that Peters would run for governor of Arizona in 2006. At the time, however, she said, while she believed she would have been a strong candidate, and was eligible to run despite having lived and registered to vote in Virginia, that questions about her eligibility would have been a distraction from the race. She was also a speculated candidate for governor in 2010, but instead served as co-chair of incumbent governor Jan Brewer's election campaign (along with former state Attorney General Grant Woods). Peters is a transportation consultant for national engineering and planning organizations.

Transportation Secretary

On September 5, 2006, Bush nominated Peters to replace Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. She was confirmed on September 29, 2006 by the United States Senate.Official biography
from the Department of Transportation In 2006, President Bush appointed Peters as the Co-Vice Chairwoman of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. She resigned the post of Secretary of Transportation in anticipation of the in-coming Obama administration. She was succeeded by Ray LaHood, the 16th U.S. Secretary of Transportation on Thursday, January 22, 2009.

Policies

Peters is an advocate of leasing U.S. roads and interstates to private companies and having user fees (i.e., tolls) for building new highways. In an interview, Peters said that the National Highway System will run out of money by decade's end without substantial changes and, rather than raise taxes, some states should turn to

toll roads A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

leased to private corporations to fill gaps. Her policies of promoting open borders for commerce created opposition from labor unions. Mary Peters held a press conference on September 5, 2008 to report that Highway Trust Fund payments to states, including her native Arizona, would be cut back because federal fuel tax collections were dropping. While she was Secretary of DOT a rule was passed stating that dogs, cats, miniature horses, pigs as well as monkeys could be considered emotional support animals, and therefore could be taken by commercial airlines in the cabin.

Personal life

Mary married Terry Peters, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

, at age 17. She and Terry have three children together. In 2013, Terry was convicted of sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl, and he was sentenced to fourteen years in prison.

References

External links

Biography at the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Mary E. 1948 births 21st-century American politicians Administrators of the Federal Highway Administration American people of Dutch descent Arizona Republicans George W. Bush administration cabinet members Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people People from Peoria, Arizona Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona State cabinet secretaries of Arizona United States Secretaries of Transportation University of Phoenix alumni Women in Arizona politics Women members of the Cabinet of the United States 21st-century American women politicians George W. Bush administration personnel