CONNECTICUT PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP

As constituted by Section 13b-11a(a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Connecticut Public Transportation Commission is composed of 11 gubernatorial and 8 legislative appointees, as well as ex-officio representatives of the Commissioners of the Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Protection, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, and the co-chairmen of the Transportation Committee of the General Assembly. Current members, including the designees of the State agencies, are listed below.

Thomas Cheeseman - Transit District Representative - Chairman

Mr. Cheeseman is the Administrator of the Middletown Transit District. He was District Manager for both Trailways of New England (1980-1986) and Greyhound Lines (1971-1979). Prior to that, he worked at United Technologies in East Hartford. From 1961 to 1969, Mr. Cheeseman served in the United States Air Force. He was past president of the Connecticut Association for Community Transportation and the Connecticut Bus Association. He currently serves on numerous boards and committees throughout Middlesex County. Mr. Cheeseman was appointed to the Connecticut Public Transportation Commission in May of 2000 and was elected Chairman in 2002.

Morton N. Katz - Bus User

Attorney Morton N. Katz of Avon has been a consistent user of the Avon-Canton commuter bus to and from Hartford since its inception. His stop in Hartford is two blocks from Superior Court. He uses bus travel extensively to go to New York and New Jersey and the bus line to Springfield takes him to the bus terminal three blocks from the Amtrak station where he catches the North Shore Limited to Cleveland. He makes frequent trips via Amtrak through the Northeast Corridor to New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. He also serves as a Magistrate in a number of G.A. Courts and is a Justice of the Peace. In 2001, Morton received the Secretary of the State's Award for Dedicated Public Service. He was re-elected to the post of Vice-Chairman of the Commission in 2002.

Federick L. Riese (Ex-Officio Member)

Mr. Riese represents Commissioner Arthur J Rocque, Jr. of the Department of Environmental Protection. Mr. Riese is a Senior Environmental Analyst with the Office of Environmental Review. He has served on the Commission since its inception in 1984, including as Interim Chairman from 1997 through early 2002. He had previously served five years on both the Connecticut Public Transportation Authority and the Governor's Railroad Advisory Task Force. Mr. Riese was elected to the Commission's post of Vice-Chairman for Administrative Affairs in 2002.

Dorothy F. Adamson - Senior Citizen Representative

Before retirement, Dorothy was a professional librarian/media specialist. Beginning at W.F. Kaynor Vo-Tech School in Waterbury, she subsequently held positions at the American Community School (Cobham, England), Robert College (Istanbul, Turkey), and the American School in Japan (Tokyo). In the course of traveling in Europe and Asia, she and her husband, Robert, experienced a variety of transportation modes, giving rise to her interest and, often, admiration for some of the systems they encountered. Dorothy and Robert reside in Bethlehem.

Linda M. Blair

Originally from Upstate New York, Linda M. Blair moved to New Haven by way of Atlanta, Georgia in 1989. She quickly became involved as an advocate for users of the Greater New Haven Transit District's Transportation for Disabled Persons Program and the CT Transit bus system. In 1991, she was appointed to the City of New Haven Commission on Disabilities, becoming chair in 1993. In 1992, she was appointed to the Connecticut Citizen's Transportation Advisory Council (CTAC). Linda has also served as a board member and officer of several organizations including serving as president of the more than four thousand member Connecticut Union of Disability Action Groups for which public transportation is a primary issue. She has served on state and local legislative panels and was appointed to the Connecticut Public Transportation Commission in 1998.

Arrol Borden

Mr. Borden is a project coordinator with the Connecticut Policy and Economic Council. He previously worked as a research associate with the Council of Governments of the Central Naugatuck Valley, where his work included developing transportation corridor plans and working on regional planning issues. Mr. Borden is a member of the American Planning Association, and holds a certificate in access management planning.

Eric Bosch - Rail Commuter

Mr. Bosch has been a commuter on the Danbury and New Canaan Branches and the New Haven mainline for the last 28 years. He owns Airwick Professional Products, a janitorial supply company. His interest is in the needs of the rail commuter with an eye toward increasing the service. He resides in Wilton with his wife and two daughters.

Dennis Brenner

Mr. Brenner works in the real estate business. His interest is in the movement of both people and goods, with a particular focus on Job Access transportation, mass transit, and access into New York City. Mr. Brenner lives in Manchester.

Richard Carpenter

Mr. Carpenter is the former Executive Director of the South Western Regional Planning Agency, a position he held from 1966 until his retirement on March 31, 1999. In this position, he was involved in land use and transportation planning for that eight town region of one-third million population. Previous to being appointed to the CPTC, he was a member of the Governor's Railroad Advisory Task Force from 1974 to 1983, serving as its Chairman from 1974 to 1981. Mr. Carpenter's chief interest is the improvement of passenger and intermodal rail freight service. He currently serves on the East of the Hudson Rail Freight Operations Task Force as the invited representative of Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York. He is also a member of the Coastal Corridor Transportation Investment Area Committee of the Transportation Strategy Board.

David Fink

Mr. Fink joined the Commission in January of 1998. He is the Executive Vice President of Guilford Rail System, New England's largest rail carrier.

N. Terry Hall

Mr. Hall, a retired large scale systems programmer, is presently a member of the Finance Committee for the Town of Goshen. Terry has served as a director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers since 1988. This is supported by a lifetime interest in rail operations and in the intermodal aspect of transportation. He has extensive rail travel experience across the nation.

William C. Kelaher - Rail Labor Representative

Mr. Kelaher is the Division Chairman for the Transportation Communication Union AFL-CIO. He represents the Railroad Clerks in New England and New York. He also is District Chairman of Lodge 227, New Haven, Connecticut that represents members of Amtrak and Metro-North in the states of Connecticut and New York. Bill resides in West Haven.

Yvonne A. Loteczka - Mobility Impaired Transit User

Ms. Loteczka is chair of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Task Force and a vice chairperson of the ADA Advisory Committee in Hartford. Yvonne was Co-chair of the Special Act 90-10 Elderly and Disabled Transportation Subcommittee. She also served on a subcommittee of the Wethersfield Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities that compiled and completed the first Directory of Services for the Disabled for the town of Wethersfield.

Russell St. John - Railroad Company Management

Mr. St. John is the former President of the Connecticut Central Railroad, now a part of the Providence and Worcester Railroad, a regional freight carrier for whom he acts as a consultant. Russ is intimately involved in the rail freight business in Connecticut. He has worked with several groups to preserve rail freight lines in this state. Russ is active on the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce where he serves on the Legislative Committee and the Rail Council. He currently represents Granby on the Board of Directors of the Greater Hartford Transit District, and has been interested in rail and bus commuter issues.

Richard Schreiner - Transit District Representative

Mr. Schreiner is Director of Service Development for the Housatonic Area Regional Transit District (HART) in Danbury. He has expertise in the areas of transit operations, transportation planning, service design, procurement, public relations, and regulatory requirements. He is the former Executive Director of the Long Island Sound Taskforce (now Save the Sound), a non-profit environmental organization. Mr. Schreiner resides in Derby with his wife and son.

Richard Sunderhauf - Bus Labor Union Representative

Mr. Sunderhauf, appointed to the Commission in 1998, is active in the affairs of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 425, AFL-CIO, which represents the bus operators and mechanics of Connecticut Transit's Hartford Division. Richard is a bus operator for that company. He is particularly interested in system and equipment improvements, increased service and ridership on public transportation and decreased congestion on our roads. Richard resides in Rocky Hill with his wife Brenda.

Ex-Officio Members
Harry P. Harris

Mr. Harris represents Commissioner James Sullivan of the Department of Transportation. Mr. Harris is the Bureau Chief of the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Public Transportation.

Representative Jacqueline Cocco

Representative Cocco represents the 127th House District in Bridgeport and is a co-chairman of the Transportation Committee.

Senator Biagio Billy Ciotto

Sen. Biagio Billy Ciotto of Wethersfield represents the 9th Senatorial District and is the Senate Co-chair of the Transportation Committee. Ciotto's district covers Cromwell, Newington and Rocky Hill and parts of Wethersfield and Middletown.

John Radacsi

Mr. Radacsi represents Secretary Marc Ryan of the Office of Policy and Management. Mr. Radacsi is an Assistant Director who has previously served on the Connecticut Public Transportation Authority and the Governor's Railroad Advisory Task Force.