Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine announced Friday the appointment of David Ekern as the new commissioner of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Ekern is the former head of the Idaho Department of Transportation and has worked in the field in various capacities since 1971.
“He has the vision and leadership to take VDOT to the next level — with a focus on performance, accountability, innovation and smarter integration of transportation and land use planning,” Kaine said in a statement.
“We had a good, strong field of candidates and David Ekern is recognized as a national leader in systems operations,” has created efficient systems and works with communities to develop transportation solutions, said Pierce Homer, Virginia secretary of Transportation. “That is very germane, particularly for the Northern Virginia area.”
Homer also said that Ekern’s federal work, while working for the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials, gave him a great understanding of federal legislation. Ekern is held “in very high regard by the Federal Highway Administration,” which helps Virginia’s quest for funding, Homer said.
“Mr. Ekern will have to be open to new ideas, innovative approaches and possess the ability to resist the reflexive tendency to first call upon taxpayers to solve every challenge facing government,” said House of Delegates Speaker William Howell, who also invited Ekern to the transportation special session.
“We very much hope he has the focus and expertise to deal effectively with highly complex and urban transportation systems in Northern Virginia and other parts of Virginia,” said David Snyder, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority chairman.
Snyder said NVTS is “pleased with his expertise on transportation security, because that continues to be an area that the Washington metropolitan region needs strong focus on.” Snyder was also interested in Ekern’s knowledge of new technology and operations to help with the area’s day-to-day congestion.
cgoodman@dcexaminer.com
