Does anybody know anything about Randy Iwasaki?

Bob Shanteau
Transportation Engineering Liaison
California Association of Bicycling Organizations


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<http://www.sacbee.com/latest/v-print/story/1967126.html>
Caltrans chief hits the road
<swiegand@...>
Published Monday, Jun. 22, 2009

Caltrans director Will Kempton, who has been generally credited with
inheriting a floundering agency and putting it on the road to
respectability, is leaving at the end of July, the governor's office
announced today.

Although it was not announced where the 62-year-old Folsom resident was
going, it has been rumored for weeks that he was taking a higher-paying
job as chief executive officer for the Orange County Transportation
Authority. An announcement from OCTA was expected later today.

The Orange County job, which at $266,656 pays about twice what the chief
of Caltrans makes, came open in March when the OCTA chief Arthur T.
Leahy accepted a job as CEO of the L.A. Metropolitan Transportation
Authority.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a news release he was appointing
Randell H. Iwasaki, Caltrans' chief deputy director, to take Kempton's
place.

"Will has been an incredible driving force behind rebuilding
California's infrastructure and especially instrumental in quickly
moving federal stimulus dollars out the door to transportation projects
around the state," Schwarzenegger said.

Schwarzenegger named Kempton, who is a registered Democrat, as chief of
Caltrans in November 2004, after a nine-month search.

Prior to being appointed, Kempton was assistant city manager of the city
of Folsom. Before taking the Folsom job in 2002, Kempton had for a
decade been a partner in a Sacramento lobbying firm that specialized in
transportation issues. He had also served as executive director of the
Santa Clara County Traffic Authority for eight years, and worked for
Caltrans for a dozen years before that.

At the time he was appointed by Schwarzenegger, Caltrans was much more
often a butt of jokes than an object of praise. A report by a Washington
D.C.-based group called the Road Information Program had just named
California as having the worst urban highway system in the country, with
more than half of the freeways in the state's metropolitan areas in poor
condition.

The department was suffering from poor morale, brought about in part by
sagging revenues and hiring freeze, and some of its top managers and
engineers had departed for better-paying jobs in the private sector.

But Kempton won generally high marks for instilling a more businesslike
approach in the department, and Caltrans won praise in recent years for
quickly completing a number of high-profile projects, such as the speedy
reopening of the multiple-freeway interchange in Oakland that was closed
by a truck crash, or the before-schedule reopening of the Bay Bridge
after it had closed on Labor Day weekend in 2006 for repairs.

Iwasaki, 49, has been with Caltrans since 1993. The Elk Grove resident
has served in several engineering and managerial jobs, including as
interim director before Kempton was named to the post in 2004.

"I am incredibly honored Gov. Schwarzenegger has asked me to take on
this position and lead Caltrans," Iwasaki said in a prepared statement.
"I look forward to continuing to work with the governor and his
administration to advance the state's leading position in global
commerce and enhance the quality of life of all Californians."
***