Portrait of Pierce Homer

RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner announced today that he has elevated Deputy Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer to serve as Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation. Homer succeeds Secretary Whittington “Whitt” Clement, who earlier announced his plan to resign at the end of this month to return to the practice of law.

Prior to joining the Warner Administration in January 2002, Homer served as deputy county executive in Prince William County.

“Whitt Clement has been a strong partner as we have worked to restore fiscal discipline to our transportation program and improve the performance at VDOT, and I wish him well as he returns to the practice of law,” Governor Warner said. “Whitt and Pierce have worked as a team to help find innovative solutions to Virginia's transportation challenges, including enhanced rail and mass transit options, airport improvements, and the use of public-private partnerships to build some critical highway projects. Pierce Homer is a creative thinker and a consensus builder - attributes that have become basically a job requirement in this role.”

“Pierce Homer has worked hard on these challenges for three years as my Deputy Secretary, and I have full confidence he will tackle this expanded role without any disruption to our transportation program,” Secretary Clement said. “He was instrumental in winning legislative support this year for the Governor’s transportation initiative, which provides historic levels of one-time funding to jump-start promising public-private partnerships, promote greater use of rail and transit, encourage local oversight of road projects and permanently eliminate deficits on completed projects in Virginia’s six-year transportation program.”

The Secretariat of Transportation has oversight of developing and implementing Virginia’s transportation program, including management and budgetary responsibilities for the Departments of Transportation, Motor Vehicles, Aviation, and Rail and Public Transportation as well as for the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board and the Virginia Port Authority. These six agencies employ over 12,000 people with an annual budget in excess of $3.3 billion. In addition, the Secretary of Transportation serves as Chairman of the Commonwealth Transportation Board.

Page last modified: March 24, 2005