Nashville mayor picks adviser to former U.S. transportation secretary to oversee transit plan
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell has selected the senior adviser to former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg as his pick to oversee the $3.1 billion Choose How You Move transportation improvement program.
At his weekly media roundtable on April 18, O'Connell announced that Sabrina Sussman will be the chief program officer for the transit plan approved by Nashvillians in November. Along with her role on Buttigieg's staff, Sussman was also chief of staff for Polly Trottenberg, the former deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and has worked in transportation policy for nearly two decades.
Sussman was in Nashville for the announcement and also spoke at O'Connell's roundtable. She said the opportunity to enter the role comes at 'a critical time for our nation.'
'More than ever before, strong local leadership is needed to drive progress — especially in the shadow of federal inaction,' Sussman said. 'Having served at both the federal and local levels before, I have an honest accounting of the challenges ahead of us. In this moment, Nashville's decision to fund transformative change sets an example for communities across the country.'
Sussman is still in the process of relocating to Nashville from Washington, D.C., and will begin her role full-time in June, O'Connell said. Until then, Kendra Abkowitz, the senior director of sustainability for the mayor's office, will serve as acting program director for Choose How You Move. Abkowitz has been informally serving in that role since the transit referendum passed last year.
O'Connell also announced that he'd appointed nine members to fill out the 15-member Choose How You Move Advisory Committee on Transportation. O'Connell established that committee through an executive order in January, and it will meet regularly and work directly with Sussman. The other six seats on the committee have already been filled with five Nashville Council appointees and Vice Mayor Angie Henderson.
Austin Hornbostel is the Metro reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former Buttigieg adviser to oversee Nashville transit plan
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