RICHMOND - Governor Mark R. Warner announced today that he has reluctantly accepted the resignation of Philip A. Shucet, who has served as commissioner for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) since April 2002. Shucet will leave his post July 1 to spend more time with his family in Virginia Beach.

“Philip Shucet has raised the bar on accountability in public service, and has served as a dynamic leader in an agency where Virginians demanded new thinking,” said Governor Warner. “Commissioner Shucet led VDOT to accomplish the goals I laid out for Virginia’s largest agency three years ago: he turned around years of financial mismanagement, dramatically improved the on-time and on-budget performance statistics, and worked hard to restore credibility to VDOT among other states and within Virginia. The reforms he’s put in place should serve a new commissioner well - but I wish we could keep Commissioner Shucet at the helm of VDOT. I wish him well in his next endeavors.”

In his resignation letter to Governor Warner, Commissioner Shucet said, “I am pleased to tell you that the women and men of VDOT have met your challenge. My assignment is complete. It is simply too difficult for me to articulate my gratitude for the opportunity to be part of your team, and to work in one of the finest organizations - public or private - in the United States. Let me just say, thank you.”

Governor Warner expects to appoint an Interim Commissioner by the end of the week to continue the management reforms implemented by Commissioner Shucet, and to execute the financial and policy initiatives proposed by Governor Warner and approved by the 2005 General Assembly.

Under Commissioner Shucet’s leadership:

* The Six-Year Improvement Program is financially viable; not a wish list. Sustainable processes, backed up by Governor Warner’s reform legislation, are in place to assure that the six-year program is driven by official revenue estimates and realistic cost estimates. A cash-flow forecasting process is in place to make sure that the agency pays all of its bills in a timely fashion.

* Under Commissioner Shucet's leadership, on-time construction project completion has moved from 20% in FY 2001 to 74% through the third quarter of FY 2005, as posted on VDOT's Quarterly Report Card ( http://www.virginiadot.org/info/ctb-qtrlyrpt.asp). On-budget performance for construction projects has moved from 51% in FY 2001 to 81%. For maintenance projects, the stats are even better, at 77% on time, and 83% on budget.

* The 2005 Government Performance Project “Grading the States” report that assigned Virginia ‘best managed state in the nation’ status ranked Virginia as one of only four states meriting an “A” in the category of Infrastructure. The report specifically cited VDOT as a bright spot: “Historically, one of Virginia’s few management trouble spots has been its Department of Transportation. But there’s been positive change there as well. Four years ago, the department was completing fewer than 20 percent of its projects on time. By fiscal year 2005, it was on track to finish two-thirds of them on time and nearly 90 percent within budget.”

“VDOT is on a sound and sustainable footing, and a strong, professional executive team is in place to lead the Department into the future,” said Commissioner Shucet. “This renewed VDOT will be a critical element in our collective efforts to begin solving the very real transportation problems that confront our Commonwealth.”
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Page last modified: April 18, 2007