County officials tapped for new governor’s cabinet

As Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's new executive team takes the field in Harrisburg, two former county officials will be playing key roles. Wolf (D) has tapped former Montgomery County Commissioner Leslie Richards to serve as his secretary of transportation. She would oversee approximately 11,000 PennDOT employees and 41,000 miles of roadway in the Keystone State.

Also slated for the new Cabinet is Dennis Davin. Davin, who's been selected to head up the Department of Community and Economic Development, served most recently as director of Allegheny County's economic development department.

According to reports, Richards has extensive leadership experience in the management of transportation projects from her work in local government, as well as her private sector work in the planning and engineering fields over the past two decades.

Prior to her nomination, she served as chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, chair of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission and was a member of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority board. She played an active role working with state legislators to educate them on the importance of passing Act 89, the state's 2013 transportation funding law.

As the director of Allegheny County's Department of Economic Development since 2004, Dennis Davin led 75 employees who oversaw site development, job creation initiatives, community development and affordable housing projects. In 2008, his department successfully completed a three-year planning process when the County Council unanimously adapted "Allegheny Places," the county's first "comprehensive plan" on land use, transportation, housing, economic development, infrastructure and greenways.