Barry Drew is Unanimously Confirmed by Senate to Pa. Turnpike Commission

Longtime public servant to attend first meeting as commissioner on Dec. 15

HARRISBURG, PA. (Dec. 10, 2015) – Longtime civil servant and Vietnam veteran Barry Drew of Mechanicsburg, Pa. was unanimously confirmed to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission late yesterday by the Pennsylvania Senate. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf nominated Drew on Sept. 2 to fill the vacated seat of former commissioner A. Michael Pratt of Carlisle, Pa.

Drew has a long history of bipartisan public service. He served as the Deputy Secretary of Administration at the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from 1995 until 2011. Prior to that, he was Solicitor for the City of Erie, Pa. then Director of Administration for the County of Erie. Drew is a Vietnam War Veteran who served as a Sergeant in the United States Air Force. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Gannon University and a Juris Doctor from the Western New England College School of Law.

PA Turnpike Chairman Sean Logan of Monroeville said that Drew is a welcome addition to the commission.

“Mr. Drew has an outstanding and wide-ranging background in public service, from military service to local, county and state experience; his expertise will certainly prove invaluable to the Turnpike Commission as we embark on 75 years of enhancing safety and mobility across the commonwealth,” Logan said. “My fellow Turnpike commissioners and I look forward to having Mr. Drew join us at his first Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission meeting in the very near future.”

Drew testified Dec. 7 before the Senate Transportation Committee and was unanimously reported to the full Senate. He will attend his first meeting as a Turnpike commissioner on Dec. 15 in Harrisburg, Pa.

“I understand the responsibility involved in serving as a Turnpike commissioner, and I am honored that Gov. Wolf and the senate have entrusted me for the job,” Drew said. “I feel grateful to come aboard just weeks after the Turnpike marked 75 years of operation; I know that Chairman Logan and the other commissioners are dedicated to ensuring that the Turnpike can thrive for the next 75 years.”

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate and maintain the Turnpike. Four commissioners, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate, plus the secretary of transportation, serve on the commission for four-year terms.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission operates and maintains 552 miles of toll roads in the state. It oversees 68 fare-collection facilities, 17 service plazas and 27 maintenance facilities. With more than 2,000 employees, it generates $932.3 million in annual toll revenue (fiscal 2015) from 192.3 million vehicles a year. Known as “America’s First Superhighway,” it opened Oct. 1, 1940. To learn more, visit www.paturnpike.com.

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