Steve Heminger

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Steve Heminger
Cropped portrait of Steve Heminger, a caucasian male wearing a blue blazer, white dress shirt, and glasses, at the Miller Center of Public Affairs in 2009.
Executive Director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
In office
January 1, 2001 – February 28, 2019
Preceded byLawrence Dahms
Succeeded byTherese Watkins McMillan
Personal details
Born1959 or 1960 (age 63–64)
Political partyDemocratic
EducationGeorgetown University (BA)
University of Chicago (MA)

Steve Heminger served as the former executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) from 2001 until his retirement in 2019. Since then, he has been serving as a director for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA).

Early life and education[edit]

Heminger received his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and his master's degree from the University of Chicago.[1]

Career[edit]

Prior to joining MTC, Heminger served as Vice President for Transportation for the Bay Area Council, and as a staff assistant for various local, state, and federal governments, including the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, California State Legislature and United States Congress.[1][2] At MTC, Heminger started as the manager of Legislation and Public Affairs in 1993; he was promoted to deputy executive director in 1999 and executive director in 2001.[3][4]

In 2005, Heminger was appointed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California to serve on the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission.[5] The commission, formed by SAFETEA-LU, expired on July 7, 2008.[6]

Heminger, a Democrat, has been active in transportation politics, and he has recommended that the federal gasoline tax be raised by forty cents per gallon. He was also a possible candidate to be President Barack Obama's nominee as Secretary of Transportation.[7] Obama would ultimately choose Ray LaHood to fill the Transportation post.[8]

Heminger's leadership at the MTC has been controversial,[9] in regards to his extensive foreign travel at public expense,[10] the problematic construction management of the new eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, and the decision to spend substantial transportation funds on the acquisition of a new MTC regional headquarters, supporting a move from Oakland to San Francisco,[11][12] which was projected to cost $48 million but later increased to $218 million. [13]

Heminger became the executive director of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in July 2017[14] after ABAG and MTC merged.[15] He retired from the executive director positions of both ABAG and MTC on February 28, 2019[4] and was appointed to the Board of Directors for the SFMTA by Mayor London Breed later that year.[16][17] Heminger represents SFMTA on the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, the authority that operates Caltrain.[18] In addition, he serves as a Senior Fellow for the University of California at Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Managing Staff - What Is MTC? - About MTC - Metropolitan Transportation Commission". www.mtc.ca.gov. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  2. ^ "Steve Heminger, Director". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Regional Transportation Agency to Get New Chief". San Francisco Chronicle. October 19, 2000. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b Higgins, Bill (January 25, 2019). "Heminger's 26 Fruitful Years in Bay Area". CalCOG. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  5. ^ Steve Heminger. "Trail Voices" (Interview). Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  6. ^ "About the Commission: Mission & Objectives". Archived from the original on January 5, 2010.
  7. ^ Ostrom, Mary Anne (December 12, 2008). "Bay Area transportation chief Heminger said to be atop short list for transportation secretary". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Obama adds another Republican to Cabinet - CNN.com". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Mercury News editorial: MTC leader needs a job review". mercurynews.com. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  10. ^ "EDITORIAL: MTC should fire its director". Vallejo Times-Herald. December 28, 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  11. ^ "MTC Puts Move To San Francisco On Hold". CBS SF BayArea. August 17, 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  12. ^ "MTC again approves plans to relocated HQ to San Francisco". San Francisco Examiner. September 28, 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  13. ^ "MTC building price soars to $218 million". sfgate.com. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  14. ^ "MTC Executive Director Steven Heminger Announces Retirement" (Press release). Association of Bay Area Governments. July 25, 2018. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  15. ^ Walsh, Jeremy (August 2, 2018). "News Digest: Commission applicants, MTC exec retiring & Open Heart Kitchen fundraiser". Pleasanton Weekly. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  16. ^ Swan, Rachel (May 1, 2019). "Breed picks former Bay Area transportation czar to join SFMTA board". SFGate. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Supes Unanimously Approve Appointment Of Heminger To SFMTA Board". SFGate. June 5, 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Caltrain Welcomes New Board Member" (Press release). Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board. March 5, 2020.
  19. ^ "Steve Heminger, ITS Senior Fellow". Institute of Transportation Studies. Retrieved 9 November 2021.

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