Mary E. Peters (born December 4, 1948) is an American government official who served as the 15th United States secretary of transportation from 2006 to 2009, under President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. She was the second woman to hold that position after

Elizabeth Dole Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford Dole (née Hanford; born July 29, 1936)Mary Ella Cathey Hanford, "Asbury and Hanford Families: Newly Discovered Genealogical Information" ''The Historical Trail'' 33 (1996), pp. 44–45, 49. is an American attorn ...

Early life and education

Peters was born in Peoria,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. She received her bachelor's degree from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a private for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree level ...

and went to a three week seminar at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. 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 in 1985, and was appointed by Gov.

Jane Dee Hull Jane Dee Hull (; August 8, 1935 – April 16, 2020) was an American politician and educator. In 1997, she ascended to the office of governor of Arizona following the resignation of Fife Symington, becoming the state's 20th governor. Hull wa ...

to serve as its director in 1998., United States Department of Transportation website. (archived 2008) After

took office as president in 2001, Peters left for Washington to work as the Administrator of the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

. 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 Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, 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 Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine, formerly Warren; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician and author who was the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Brewer is the fourth woman (and was t ...

's election campaign (along with former

state Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney gener ...

Grant Woods J. Grant Woods (May 19, 1954 – October 23, 2021) was an American attorney and politician who served as Attorney General of Arizona from 1991 until 1999. Woods was a moderate-to-liberal Republican who served as John McCain's chief of staff w ...

). Peters is a transportation consultant for national engineering and planning organizations.

Transportation Secretary

On September 5, 2006, Bush nominated Peters to replace

Norman Mineta Norman Yoshio Mineta ( ja, 峯田良雄, November 12, 1931 – May 3, 2022) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Mineta served in the United States Cabinet for Presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a ...

as Secretary of Transportation. She was confirmed on September 29, 2006 by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

.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 Raymond H. LaHood (born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the ...

, 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 A user fee is a fee, tax, or impost payment paid to a facility owner or operator by a facility user as a necessary condition for using the facility. People pay user fees for the use of many public services and facilities. At the federal level in ...

(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 implemente ...

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, 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