Interim Department of Transportation Commissioner Jeffrey Parker, who came to the state more than two years ago as a deputy commissioner under then DOT Commissioner Joseph Marie, announced his resignation Wednesday.
In his resignation letter, Parker said he’s leaving to spend more time with his family and children and is confident the agency is well equipped to deal with anything that may come their way.
“I leave behind a Department that I believe is well prepared for the challenges that lay ahead,” Parker wrote.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will continue his search for a commissioner to lead the agency that he wants to give an ambitious list of projects.
Sources say Parker was not in the running to be appointed by Malloy and was anxious to be reunited with his family, whom he left behind in Georgia to take the job in Connecticut.
Rep. Anthony Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, said Parker has done a great job stepping up and taking over a job he didn’t expect to have to assume.
Parker took over as interim commissioner when Marie resigned amid accusations of harassment which Marie’s lawyer vehemently denied.
Even Jim Cameron Chairman of the Metro North Commuter Rail Council said Parker did a good job while he was there.
Cameron and Parker didn’t always see eye-to-eye on things and the last few weeks there was a heated debate between the two over the tardiness of the new M-8 rail cars, but Cameron said he always thought Parker was a “good guy.”
“I am leaving with very mixed emotions, but also with great anticipation as I embark on a new chapter in my life,” Parker wrote in an email to DOT staff. “On one hand, Newington will always be my home and these past few years will provide me with so many more good memories. But as many of you know, this is not my home now and my future endeavors will allow me to spend much more time with my family.“
Before coming to Connecticut Parker was senior director of transportation operations at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority.
Malloy is continuing his national search for a Transportation Commissioner.
