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Kris Kolluri

NRI Commissioner of Transportation took post as Governor of New Jersey- but only for today

New Jersey, Dec 28, 2006
Gary Singh

NRI press reporter confirmed, talked to him on Wednesday and he said, " I WILL BE A GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY ON DEC. 28, 2006." This is very excited conversation with him. We assure him and promise him, on behalf of all NRIs that we will continue to support him. He thanked and always looking support from NRIs. He is very gentle, honest and qualified person considered in New Jersey's cabinet.

Under NJ state law, an acting governor has to be appointed whenever the governor is absent from the state. Governor Corzine will be out of town. So will the Senate president, Assembly speaker and attorney general, all of whom are ahead of Kolluri in the line of succession. New Jersey does not yet have a lieutenant governor; its first will take office in 2010. Under current law, the transportation commissioner is the last in the line of automatic succession.

Kris Kolluri is currently Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, will be N.J. New Governor on December 28, 2006 - but only for today.

Kolluri joked that his one-day stint won't give him enough time to solve the state's property tax dilemma. Instead, he planned to bring his family and a few friends to Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion, to snap some pictures. "I actually have a day job to do," he said. "I have to make sure the roads are safe and trains are running on time."


NRI Kris Kolluri will be a NJ governor for one day

New Jersey, 26 Dec, 2006
Gary Singh

Kris Kolluri, 38, well known Commissioner of transportation for New Jersey will be the first NRI (non-resident Indian) to become the governor of a US state for only a day, on December 28, until the president of the state senate gets back from his holiday, said Erin Phallen, director of his department. He is also the first Indian American to hold a cabinet post in New Jersey.

According to our sources, Mr. Kris Kollur will bring his family to Drumthwacket, the governor's mansion, for a few pictures.

Kris Kolluri was named Commissioner of tansportation for New Jersey by Governor Jon Corzin and sworn into office on March 13, 2006. Now as head of the Department of Transportation for the State, Kolluri will oversee some 3,900 employees and a budget of $2.6 billion. There are 2,344 miles of state-maintained roadways and 2,454 state bridges in New Jersey and Kolluri's Department of Transportation is charged with the construction, operation, maintenance and management of the state's transportation infrastructure.

Prior to that, Kolluri specialized in redevelopment and transportation law as an attorney at Parker McCay of Marlton. Kolluri was Chief of Staff to New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere. In this capacity, he served as counselor to the Commissioner and managed the development and implementation of the department's legislative and regulatory policies and communications strategies.

Before taking this post, Kolluri was Assistant Commissioner of Intergovernmental Relations for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, in charge of legislative relations, customer advocacy and public outreach and the the divisions of Policy, Legislation and Regulatory Actions, and Federal and International Transportation.

Prior to working in state government, Kolluri held a variety of top positions in Congressional offices. Most recently he served as Senior Policy Advisor to House Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt, heading the Member Support Program which was established to help freshman Members of Congress design and implement long-term strategic initiatives. In early 1998, Kolluri was tapped to be special advisor to Congressman Gephardt on India and Indian-American affairs.

Before he worked for Congressman Gephardt, Kolluri served as Congressman Robert E. Andrews' Legislative Director and his principal staffer on the International Relations Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific

He was born in Hyderabad and came to USA from India in 1985 as a teenager. His father was 50, his mother 40, when they packed their sons and left their homeland. Though his father had his Ph.D. in physics, he couldn’t find work for more than two month. He lives in West Windsor with his wife and two daughters.

“My parents sacrificed everything that they knew - their friends, their jobs,” Kolluri said. “They didn’t come here for themselves but they came here for my brother and me.”Kolluri received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Marketing from Rutgers University, a Masters degree in International Business from Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from Georgetown University.

 

 

 

 

 


Kris Kolluri, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation and will be a governor of New Jersey on December 28 for one day