Environmentalists would have some questions for a potential transportation appointee.
Elizabeth Ouzts, director of Environment North Carolina, said that she would want to hear more from state Sen. Clark Jenkins about his views before he took a job as secretary of the state Department of Transportation.
Jenkins is one of several people whose names have been discussed by Raleigh insiders recently, though Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has not made any announcements.
Ouzts said that as a member of the state Board of Transportation Jenkins was "very vocal" about his frustration with delays on road projects caused by the need for environmental reviews, but she noted that his record as a state senator has been good.
In 2007, the group gave Jenkins an 85 percent rating on its scorecard of pro-environmental votes.
"We would hope that he would continue on that path and make decisions that were going to be good for the environment and the economy," she said.
Ouzts was not familiar with the environmental records of Gene Conti or Lanny Wilson, whose names have also come up.
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Re: Ouzts: Some questions about Jenkins
Elizabeth Ouzts should be asking why we have a former Sec. of Transportation whose department had to repave I-40 under his watch as head of transition?