Racine 9th District Alderman Trevor Jung speaks during the Racine Memorial Day Program at Graceland Cemetery, May 27, 2019.

Andrew Rosenthal 

RACINE — Alderman Trevor Jung of the 9th District is stepping down from his role on the City Council, but is also stepping up to a new role in the city.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Jung, 25, will be the city’s next transit manager; he will begin at his new position on Monday, Aug. 30.

Current Transit Manager Michael Maierle is due to retire before the end of the year. Jung plans to step down as alderman, a role he considered “the honor of my life,” and the City Council will have the opportunity to

Since being elected in 2019 as the city’s youngest alderman since 1862 and later chairing the city’s transit commission, Jung has repeatedly advocated for transit-related projects. He’s been a cheerleader of the Biden administration’s ambitious and massive infrastructure spending plans.

An energetic, perpetually smiling 2014 Case High School graduate, Jung was adopted from an orphanage in Russia and arrived in the United States at the age of 2, raised by a single father. Jung holds a degree in urban studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

He said that as transit manager, one of his goals will be to bring federal and state dollars into Racine to improve the area’s viability by expanding transit options for residents to nearby economic engines like Milwaukee and Chicago.

Among the projects he’s backed were the purchase of nine electric buses for the RYDE mass-transit system, the painting of the “Black Humanity Now” mural on Wisconsin Avenue, reviving the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter train and bringing Bird electric scooters to Racine.

“It’s all about regional connectivity,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

He has repeatedly described as Racine being “on an island” regarding how the nearest interstate to the city’s borders (Interstate 94) is four miles away.

Jung has been a vocal member of the local Democratic Party. In April 2019, he drove from Racine to Philadelphia to witness the kickoff of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. He was scheduled to be a delegate at the 2020 Democratic National Convention before it was derailed by the pandemic.

In a statement, Jung said: “I look forward to continuing my public service as Transit Manager for the City of Racine. Modernizing our transportation assets and infrastructure is instrumental to the health and economic vitality of our community. Racine has the opportunity to better connect workers with jobs, reduce our carbon footprint, and attract the next generation of talent through a modernized transit system.”

According to a news release, Jung is a member of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin and All Aboard Wisconsin. He previously was a member of the Eastern Racine County Transportation Task Force and Visioning a Greater Racine.

In a statement, Mayor Cory Mason said: “I am excited to have Trevor become the new face of public transit in Racine. Trevor has always been an advocate for and passionate about transportation equity, sustainability, and community building. He has a proven record of improving systems and services through collaboration, public engagement, and research. And he understands that we need a modernized multimodal transportation system that is built through regional planning and with intergovernmental partnership.”

A news release from the mayor’s office said Jung was picked following a “competitive interview process” where he “demonstrated an understanding of the challenges public transit currently faces and a vision on how to create a robust system that benefits all residents regionally.”

https://journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/trevor-jung-city-of-racines-new-transit-manager-is-a-familiar-face/article_28f86e4a-cc3c-58b9-ab52-b61f3f606cdc.html