State transportation secretary to resign for UW position, Evers appoints successor

Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson will leave his post to take a position as vice chancellor for university relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — Gov. Tony Evers has appointed Deputy Transportation Secretary Kristina Boardman to the position.

Associated Press

August 16, 2024

A flagpole at the Wisconsin State Capitol stands empty on June 22, 2023. The state transportation secretary plans to resign in September 2024 to take a job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Gov. Tony Evers has appointed a successor to the position. (Credit: PBS Wisconsin)

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

The governor’s office announced Aug. 16 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.

The $1 trillion federal bipartisan infrastructure package that President Joe Biden signed in 2021 along with increases in electric vehicle registration fees in the 2021-23 Wisconsin state budget also generated more dollars for road work during Thompson’s tenure.

Thompson, a UW-Madison graduate, will replace Charles Hoslet as vice chancellor of university relations. Hoslet retired earlier this year, university officials said in a news release.

Thompson will oversee a broad range of relationships the university maintains with state government, federal agencies, Congress, businesses and other stakeholders, the news release said.