Remove ads
Lynn Ann Peterson (born October 22, 1968) is an American politician in the U.S. state of Oregon serving as the council president of Metro.[1] Metro is the only directly-elected regional government in the United States, and spans 24 cities in the Portland, Oregon three-county area,[2][1] along with many unincorporated suburbs in the Portland metropolitan area.
Lynn Peterson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| President of Metro | |
| Assumed office January 7, 2019 | |
| Secretary of Transportation of Washington | |
| In office 2013–2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 22, 1968 Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mark Peterson |
| Residence(s) | Lake Oswego, Oregon, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Wisconsin |
Peterson's career began in 1988 as an engineer for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.[3] Peterson has worked as a travel forecaster for Metro, a transportation advocate for 1000 Friends of Oregon, a strategic planner for TriMet, and as an independent consultant.[4]
Peterson began her political career as a city councilor in Lake Oswego, Oregon from 2003 to 2006.[5] She served as the chair of Clackamas County Commission from 2007 to 2011.[5]
She resigned from the Clackamas County Commission when she was appointed to be a transportation adviser to Oregon governor John Kitzhaber.[6]
In 2013, she was appointed by Washington governor Jay Inslee as Secretary of Transportation, the chief of the Washington State Department of Transportation,[7] where she guided Washington's largest transportation funding package in its history: $16 billion.[3] In 2016, she was not confirmed by the Republican-controlled state senate, resulting in a controversial end to her WSDOT tenure.[8] Governor Inslee responded critically to the Republicans' action.[9]
Peterson was sworn in as Metro President on January 7, 2019.[10] She received 78 percent of the vote, defeating one opponent to replace Tom Hughes, who had served the limit of two consecutive terms.[11] She had been endorsed by many Oregon elected officials, and her campaign included a 24-city bike tour.[12]
On September 7, 2021, Peterson announced she will run for reelection.[13] She won a second term in the primary by receiving more than 50% of the vote.[14][15]
On June 8, 2023, Peterson announced that she would be seeking the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 5th congressional district, currently held by Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer.[16][17] She withdrew from the race on February 19, 2024.[18]
Remove ads
Peterson lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with her husband and three Alaskan malamute dogs.[5] In 2022, she wrote a book, Roadways for People: Rethinking Transportation Planning and Engineering, along with Elizabeth Doerr.[19]
Remove ads
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads