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Downey (Mortimer) Transportation Papers
MSS.2018.09.21
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: Mortimer Downey Transportation Papers
source:
Downey, Mortimer L.
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2018.09.21
Physical Description:
40 boxes
(17.5 linear feet)
Physical Description:
1 flat file drawers
(.1 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1962-2018
Date (bulk): 1985-2015
Abstract: The Mortimer Downey Transportation Papers reflect major topics in transportation policy during the Mortimer Downey’s long
career in public service, including as US Deputy Secretary of Transportation. The dates of the materials span 1962-2018, but
the bulk are from the height of Downey's career, mid 1980s-2010s. The collection consists of government reports, memos, policy
papers, maps, and brochures related to domestic and international transportation.
The collection is arranged into four series: Series I. Regional Transportation Papers, 1962-2018; Series II. National Transportation
Papers, 1968-2018; Series III. International Transportation Papers, 1980-2014; Series IV. Presidential Transportation Papers.
1975-2014. The first three series are arranged by subject and then by date, whereas the fourth series is arranged chronologically
by presidential administration and then by document type.
Mortimer Leo Downey III was born in 1936 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale University in 1958 and received
a Master of Public Administration from New York University in 1966. His long career in public service was dedicated to regional
and national transportation policy. He currently works as a consultant on transportation issues in the Washington D.C. area.
Downey was the longest-serving U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation, beginning his tenure under the Clinton administration
in 1993 and continuing until the first few days of the Bush administration in 2001. He served on the Transportation Policy
Committee for the Obama presidential campaign and led the Department of Transportation Agency Review Team for the presidential
transition (2008-2009). He was a board member for Amtrak (1993-2001), and has been a fellow at the National Academy of Public
Administration since 1993. Earlier in his career, he served as the Assistant Secretary, Budget and Programs, at the Department
of Transportation (1977-1981) and as a Transportation Analyst for the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Budget
(1975-1977).
Downey also worked extensively in regional transportation policy and administration. Most notably, he served as the Executive
Director for the State of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (1981-1993), overseeing billions of dollars of investment
into the region’s transportation infrastructure. He was a member of the Board of Directors for the Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority (2010-2016), and served as its Chairman (2015-2016). He began his career working in transportation
administration and development for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from the late 1950s through the mid-1970s.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for
permission to publish or quote manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of San Jose State University Special
Collections & Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Special Collections and Archives as the owner
of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained
by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files
from or derived from these collections is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Mortimer Downey Transportation Papers, MSS-2018-09-21, San Jose State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Collection processed by Monica Keane, March 2019
Norman Mineta Papers, MSS-1996-02-17, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
The Mortimer Downey Transportation Papers consists primarily of government reports, memos, policy papers, maps, and brochures
that Mortimer Downey collected during his career in transportation policy and administration.
The main series organization (I-III) reflects the way that transportation infrastructure is administered and financed. Series
I contains materials related to regional transportation issues and infrastructure projects, especially in New York, New Jersey,
Massachusetts, and Washington DC. Series II contains materials related to the Department of Transportation and national transportation
policy. Major topics of interest include air traffic control, highway and interstates, freight rail and passenger rail, including
Amtrak governance and reforms. Series III contains materials related to international transportation, especially on international
transportation finance and railway. Key agencies and projects represented in the papers include the European Union Channel
Tunnel, the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway, the Panama Canal Expansion, the United Kingdom Eddington Study, and UK Transport
for London.
Series IV contains memos and internal documents from Downey’s roles as a transportation expert in Washington DC during several
Democratic presidential administrations and campaigns. The bulk of the documents are from Downey’s tenure as Deputy Secretary
of the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Clinton administration (1993-2001), but there are also a significant number
of documents from Downey’s work as a transportation analyst for the US House of Representatives and as assistant secretary
of the budget and programs for the Department of Transportation during the Ford and Carter administrations (1975-1981). Downey’s
work on the Kerry (1994) and Obama (1998) presidential campaigns is also represented.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
United States Department of Transportation
Transportation -- Finance
Urban Transportation
Local Transit
Railroads
Freight and freightage
Traffic engineering
Downey, Mortimer L.