Jeanie Ward-Waller filed whistleblower complaint about Sacramento-area road construction projects allegedly circumventing environmental rules. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo
By Debra Kahn
10/03/2023 06:06 PM EDT
A top California transportation official who was reassigned last month told POLITICO she was demoted for objecting to highway expansions that will increase driving.
Jeanie Ward-Waller, Caltrans’ deputy director of planning and modal programs, was taken off the job in September. Her reassignment came three weeks after she said she notified agency officials that she would file a whistleblower complaint about Sacramento-area road construction projects allegedly circumventing environmental rules.
Caltrans’ chief deputy director, Michael Keever, notified Ward-Waller on Sept. 14 that she would be terminated from her role Oct. 4 and placed on administrative leave until then. In a letter seen by POLITICO, he offered her the option of returning to her previous role at the agency or one administrative level above that.
Ward-Waller’s attorney, Christian Schreiber, said she was still weighing her next steps. “We plan to press her employment-related claims and her whistleblower retaliation claims and litigation, if that’s what’s necessary,” he said in an interview.
Caltrans officials declined to comment on specific claims. “Caltrans will cooperate with any independent investigation into these claims,” agency spokesperson Edward Barrera said in a statement. “In addition, Caltrans...
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