Long Beach Mayor Lauds Obama Transportation Pick

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster praised Pres. Obama's Monday nomination for Secretary of Treasury, Anthony Foxx, saying they'd served together on the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., was formally announced Monday as the White House's nomination for the top transportation appointment.

Foxx is “one of the most effective mayors” in the country, Obama said, due to Charlotte's investments in transportation and other projects that have lifted the local economy, the Los Angeles Times reported.

During Foxx's tenure, the Times quoted Obama as noting, the city of Charlotte has expanded or broken ground on rail, airport and streetcar transportation projects.

In Long Beach, home to the nation's second busiest shipping port - served by vessel, train and truck - Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster hailed Foxx's nomination. 

 “I applaud President Obama on his nomination of Mayor Foxx as Transportation Secretary.  Mayor Foxx and I serve on the U.S. Conference of Mayors leadership together and I know that he is an outstanding candidate," Foster said in a prepared statement. It was noted that he "serves as a Trustee and Chair of the Mayors Business Council for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and is the former President of Southern California Edison."

Foster added: "Mayors bring a vital perspective to the national conversation whether it be about impacts to the daily commutes of constituents, job creation or the need to continually invest in the networks that ensure environmentally clean and efficient delivery of global consumer goods.”