Pensacola man to lead Florida Transportation Commission

During their May meeting in Tampa, the Florida Transportation Commission unanimously elected Garrett Walton of Pensacola as its new chairman.

Walton was appointed to the commission in 2008. Walton, a retired tax attorney from the law firm of Emmanuel, Sheppard & Condon, is currently self-employed, dealing primarily in real estate development and investments. Walton is also involved as an active member of the community, serving a variety of civic and charitable causes, including being a founding member of REBUILD Northwest Florida, in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan. 

Commissioner Joseph “Joe” Mazurkiewicz, Ph.D. of Cape Coral, Fla., was elected to the office of vice chairman.

Commissioner Ron Howse, P.E. of Cocoa, Fla., was elected to the office of secretary.  The Florida Transportation Commission was first established in 1987 by the legislature to provide performance, production and fiscal oversight of the Florida Department of Transportation and to make policy recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature. In 2007 the nine-member Commission’s statutory responsibilities were expanded to cover oversight of most of the tolling, expressway and regional transportation authorities in the state.