Bay Area transportation chief under consideration for Obama Administration post

SAN FRANCISCO - Steve Heminger, executive director of the San Francisco Bay Metropolitan Transportation Commission, is on a short list of people being considered by President-elect Barack Obama for possible appointment as the nation's next Secretary of Transportation.

Commission spokesman Randy Rentschler confirmed late Monday that his boss is indeed being considered for the high post by the incoming administration. The commission is the regional transportation planning and finance agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

According to his agency biography, Heminger, a San Francisco resident, was appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission. In addition, he is a member of the board of trustees for the Mineta Transportation Institute and the board of directors for the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations and International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnkpike Association.

Prior to joining the commission in 1993, Heminger was vice president of transportation for the Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored public policy group. He also has served as a staff assistant in the California State Legislature and the U.S. Congress. Heminger received his Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University.