Governor Names Gerald Nicely Deputy to the Governor
Monday, August 09, 2010 | 08:34am
Commissioner of Transportation to Assume Role Following Morgan's Departure
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen today appointed Gerald Nicely, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation, to serve as Deputy to the Governor effective October 1. Nicely will replace John Morgan, who on Friday was named the next Chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents.
“Jerry is a strong leader who knows the operation of state government and knows how to manage large organizations and complex issues,” Bredesen said. “He has served in a number of executive roles during my time in public office and he’s the right person to help me during the remainder of my time as Governor.”
Nicely has served as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation since 2003 and concurrently served as Interim Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety from December 2005 until January 2007. Nicely also served in a number of positions in local government, including Chief of Staff, when Bredesen was mayor of Nashville.
“I appreciate Governor Bredesen’s continued confidence in me and will be honored to serve in this role,” Nicely said. “I’m committed to helping the Governor implement the education reforms that are currently underway as well as keeping our momentum in creating jobs and recruiting businesses to Tennessee.”
Nicely joined state government and TDOT with more than 30 years of local government experience and a track record of successfully forging public-private partnerships that helped transform Nashville. He served as Executive Director of Nashville’s Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency from 1979-2002.
Nicely has received numerous awards for public service including: Tennessee Association of Public Administration’s Public Administrator of the Year in 2006, the Nashville Kiwanis Club’s co-Nashvillian of the year in 2001 – for which he was the co-recipient with his wife Donna, the Apollo award from the Nashville Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in 2006, and the Nashville Engineering Center’s Distinguished Builder Award.
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