DC Rumors Indicate That Obama Will Nominate Charlotte, NC, Mayor Anthony Foxx As SecTrans

There is new buzz in Washington as indication grow that President Obama has selected a replacement for SecTrans Ray LaHood, who announced his intention to step-down from the high profile post, earlier in the year.

Obama's candidate, according to extensive media reports, seems to be more a matter of political payback than qualifications in the Transportation arena. Mayor Foxx' claim to fame seems to center on his having brought the Democratic National Convention to his hometown in 2012, while his transportation portfolio seems to be 'lacking.' Foxx had recently announced that he was not going to run for re-election, and immediate buzz started building that he was heading for a cabinet post in the Obama Administration. The mayor, an African-American, also handily counters recent criticism that the Administration 'wasn't as diverse' as was expected.

Foxx' credentials in transportation are limited in scope as well as the technologies he has worked with. Media reports point only to his involvement in a city streetcar project that was expected to utilize electric tram technologies as well as his role in "leading the expansion" of the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport as well as unfinished efforts to expand the city’s light rail system.

Foxx was elected mayor of Charlotte in 2009 and reelected in November 2011 by nearly a 70% majority.

According to his official bio, Foxx received a law degree from New York University’s School of Law as a Root-Tilden Scholar, the University’s prestigious public service scholarship, and earned a bachelor’s degree in History from Davidson College. He is a member of the Mecklenburg County Bar and a graduate of its Leadership Institute.

Prior to joining the DesignLine Corporation as Deputy General Counsel in 2009, Foxx was an attorney at Hunton & Williams law firm. He also served as a law clerk for the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, a trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, and staff counsel to the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary.

FMI: www.transportation.gov