Evers’ transportation secretary will resign in September to take job at UW-Madison

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers’ transportation secretary plans to resign next month to take a job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The governor’s office announced Friday that Craig Thompson will leave his post on Sept. 11 to take a position as vice chancellor for university relations at the state’s flagship university. Deputy Transportation Secretary Kristina Boardman will succeed Thompson, becoming the first woman to serve as transportation secretary, the governor’s office said.

Evers appointed Thompson to the transportation post in December 2018, shortly before Evers began his first term in office. Republicans in the state Senate said then that they were worried about Thompson’s previous work as a lobbyist for the Transportation Development Association of Wisconsin, a strong advocate for raising taxes and fees to fund road improvements. But the Senate eventually confirmed him in 2021.

Evers’ office said that Thompson has worked to make improvements to more than 7,400 miles of road and 1,780 bridges during his tenure.

The Department of Transportation accomplished those improvements without an increase in the state’s gas tax, one of the major funding sources for roadwork. That tax hasn’t gone up since 2006. The first state budget that Evers signed, however, increased vehicle title and registration fees, two other funding sources for road improvements.

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