Capital Solutions for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Peter McLaughlin
Peter McLaughlin joined the Hennepin County Board in 1991. He is presently chair of the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority, chair of the Public Works, Energy & Environment Committee and co-chair of the Intergovernmental Committee. He coordinated the regional effort with the help of labor, business and the community in successfully lobbying for Light Rail Transit (LRT) funding which led to the opening of Minnesota’s first light rail line, the Hiawatha Line, in 2004. In 2008, he was instrumental in establishing a dedicated funding source to expand the region’s transit system of light rail, commuter rail and bus rapid transit lines. He presently serves as chair of the Counties Transit Improvement Board, which invests revenues from the five-county metro sales tax for transitways and advocates for expansion of the transit system. A passionate advocate for the environment, he authored the resolution making Hennepin County one of the founding members of Cool Counties, a national initiative committing counties throughout the United States to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by the year 2050. He won approval for several bold actions to combat crime, including creation of a drug court; expanded juvenile work squads and adult Sentence-To-Serve work crews; additional juvenile detention beds; putting inmates to work and working closely with the District Court on the Adult Gun Policy and the Juvenile Gun Education Program. He sponsored board actions to develop and endorse Accelerating Graduation by Reducing Academic Disparities (A-GRAD), a long-range plan to ensure all Hennepin County youth graduate from high school. Prior to joining the County Board, McLaughlin served three terms in the Minnesota Legislature, rising to the post of Assistant House Majority Leader. He was the chief author on several key pieces of legislation, including the Parental Leave law, and legislation establishing the State Jobs Program (MEED), and State Dislocated Worker Program. Mr. McLaughlin received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in 1971 and his Masters degree from the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota in 1977.
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