Tucsonan May Gain Roads Clout

By Andrea Kelly, Arizona Daily Star

Schorr expected to be No. 2 on board for ADOT

Look for Pima County to move up a notch today in the ranks of the Arizona transportation world.

The State Transportation Board is expected to elect Si Schorr, a Tucsonan and longtime transportation advocate, to serve as its vice chairman.

Schorr represents Pima County on the board, which governs the Arizona Department of Transportation. The board decides which state road projects get funding and how much they get, and it awards contracts to companies to work on the projects.

Schorr’s new position comes as the Legislature starts a new session with Tucson and Southern Arizona legislators on both the House and Senate transportation committees, and Tim Bee – who represents District 30 in Tucson – as Senate president.

Schorr has been a Pima County planning commissioner, assistant Tucson city manager and city urban renewal director. He’s been a vocal backer of the Regional Transportation Plan and widening Interstate 10 in Tucson. Schorr is a lawyer with Lewis and Roca, and he’s on the board of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council.

Even though the vice chairman and chairman of the State Transportation Board don’t technically get more power or get their way more often, the prominence of the positions helps Southern Arizona in a more general way, local officials say.

Schorr will have the advantage of four years’ experience on the board, which is useful because ADOT operates with five-year plans, and some things that were only being discussed when he was first appointed to the board are now getting done, said Katie Dusenberry, former Pima County supervisor and a State Transportation Board member from 1997 to 2002.

Another former board member agrees.

“I think simply because you’re there in a position of leadership, you have much more involvement and much better understanding of the five-year plan and what ADOT is doing,” said Larry Hecker, who was on the first State Transportation Board, from 1979 to 1982. “It gives you an advantage of identifying opportunities.”

The chairman and vice chairman also get to interact with people in other prominent, decision-making positions.

“When there are issues that come before the Legislature, oftentimes it’s the chair or vice chair who interacts directly with legislators across the state,” Hecker said. “It gives you an opportunity to talk about what is important to ADOT, but also what’s important to Tucson. There’s a lot of prestige that comes with the role.”

Tucson City Manager Mike Hein said, “Having somebody in a prominent position on the ADOT board helps bridge some of the communication issues.”

Schorr said he already knows what he wants to focus on.

“My goal for the next two years is to try to work on some innovative solutions toward addressing transportation problems,” Schorr said.

The board needs to find different and better ways to fund transportation, he said.

“Mary Peters (the U.S. secretary of transportation) has said a lot about private-public partnerships,” Schorr continued. “Sometimes that term can be used too loosely, but some states are moving in that direction quite aggressively. I think Arizona has to get into that same framework.”

In addition to exploring alternative funding for transportation projects, he said he wants to begin discussion of a commuter rail system between Tucson and Phoenix, and continue to increase the capacity of Interstate 10 between the two cities.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said Schorr’s position will mean one less person at the state level whom he’ll have to explain local issues to, because Schorr already is familiar with the transportation needs here.

Hecker half-jokes when he says the role also tells others you mean business.

“A lot of times when you have a title, your phone calls get answered more quickly,” he said.

The board meets today to elect a chairman and vice chairman. After serving four years as a member, Schorr s expected to be voted vice chairman and be promoted to chairman in January 2008 for the last year of his six-year term.

* Contact reporter Andrea Kelly at 573-4243 or akelly@azstarnet.com.

(c) 2007 Arizona Daily Star. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.