One casualty of the Republican wins in last week’s elections was U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The Minnesota Democrat was defeated in a narrow vote, which could have major implications in the transportation industry. Here’s an article from the Dallas News about the turnover.
The presumption is that the ranking Republican on the Transportation committee, John Mica of Florida, will replace Oberstar as chairman. Mica not only helped secure funding for the North Spokane Corridor in past years, but is also reportedly a friend of Cathy McMorris Rodgers, which could be advantageous to our transportation situation.