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Will Kempton, Former Caltrans Director, Assumes Leadership of OCTA

Orange County is no different that the rest of Southern California when it comes to struggling with congestion on its freeways. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), however, has consistently set pace for the region when it comes to implementing creative solutions for the problem, including passing Measure M, building toll roads, and moving forward with environmental review for high-speed rail between Los Angeles and Anaheim. With high-speed rail and reauthorization of the surface transportation bill on the horizon, new OCTA CEO, Will Kempton, featured in the following TPR/MIR interview, will certainly face his share of challenges.

Published Friday March 5, 2010

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Will Kempton

This article originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of TPR/MIR

You assumed the position of OCTA CEO after having spent five years leading Caltrans. What led you to take this new county position after holding such a lofty position at the state?

As the head of Caltrans I certainly had an opportunity to deal with major issues at the policy level. It is very productive and certainly very engaging to talk about the larger issues of transportation, finance, and broader program implementation, such as Prop 1B bonds. But there is nothing that compares, in my view, to the experience that you get at an agency like OCTA because you are actually responsible for getting project work done. It is kind of like “all politics are local”: all trips begin on the local system. Above all else, I’m a builder. I like getting things done and seeing things happen.