Cooper appoints 10 new Board of Transportation members, replacing McCrory appointees

Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday named 10 new members to the state Board of Transportation, replacing members with expiring terms who had been appointed by former Gov. Pat McCrory.

The new members represent all but two of the board seats up for appointment this year. Seven other McCrory appointees have terms that don’t expire until 2019. Under state law, the governor appoints the entire board, which addresses state transportation policy and oversees the Highway Trust Fund.

Most of the board members represent specific divisions, which are clusters of counties grouped together by the Department of Transportation for funding and planning purposes.

Cooper’s picks include prominent Democrats, included former legislators and former transportation board members, to replace Republicans.

Here’s who Cooper appointed, and who they’ll replace:

Michael S. Fox of Guilford County is a land-use attorney who previously served on the Transportation Board from 2010 to 2013. He’ll represent Division 7 (Alamance, Caswell, Guilford, Orange and Rockingham), replacing Cheryl McQueary, who’d worked as a federal transportation official in President George W. Bush’s administration.

Grady Hunt of Robeson County is a government, education, and real estate attorney. He’ll be an at-large board member representing rural issues, replacing Jim Crawford, a former state legislator from Oxford.

Valerie D. Jordan of Wake County, an account manager at Cisco Systems, will represent Division 5 (Wake, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Person, Warren and Vance), replacing Jeff Sheehan, a senior vice president at Duke Realty Corporation.

Anthony T. Lathrop of Mecklenburg County, an attorney and chairman of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Planning Commission, will be an at-large member representing government-related finance and accounting issues. He replaces Ned Curran, CEO of a Charlotte development firm.

Daniel F. McComas of New Hanover County is a former state legislator and former chairman of the N.C. Ports Authority, and is also president and CEO of MCO Transport, Inc. He’ll serve as an at-large member representing state ports and aviation, replacing Wilmington attorney Robby Collins.

John R. Pope of Catawba County, board chairman for Cargo Transporters, will represent Division 12 (Alexander, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell and Lincoln). He replaces Lou Wetmore of Hickory, a wealth adviser who founded Triad Packaging Inc.

Nina Szlosberg-Landis of Wake County has served three previous terms on the Transportation Board. She will be an at-large member representing environmental issues, replacing Ferrell Blount, a former N.C. Republican Party chairman and chairman of an agricultural holding company.

Cullie S. Tarleton of Watauga County is a former state legislator and the retired senior vice president and general nanager of WBT, WBTV, and WCCB-TV in Charlotte. He will represent Division 11 (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Surry, Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin), replacing Jim Palermo, a former executive vice president at Bank of America.

R. Michael Wells Sr. of Forsyth County is an attorney and will represent Division 9 (Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Rowan and Stokes). He replaces Jake Alexander of Salisbury, a former deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Landon G. Zimmer of New Hanover County is an attorney and a commissioner on the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. He will represent Division 3 (Sampson, Duplin, Onslow, Pender, New Hanover and Brunswick), replacing Sandra Fountain, who owns a real-estate firm in Jacksonville.

Cooper has not yet named replacements from Division 1 board member Malcolm Fearing and Division 13 board member David Brown.

“These talented new members bring years of experience and commitment to public service to North Carolina’s Transportation Board,” Cooper said in a news release Friday. “I look forward to working with them to make important improvements to our state’s transportation system.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Cooper appoints 10 new Board of Transportation members, replacing McCrory appointees."