“Freight rail infrastructure investments support the economic development of Mississippi’s towns and cities more. Shipbuilders in Pascagoula, plastics manufacturers in Hattiesburg, construction materials suppliers in Jackson, and many other Mississippi industries use rail to make their operations more productive and competitive.”

Robbie Brown’s responsibilities for the Mississippi Municipal League include managing the Certified Municipal Officials training and education program, providing members with technical support and information, archiving sample municipal ordinances so that cities and towns may use them to develop their own ordinances, and keeping members informed of grant opportunities.

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Brown attended Mississippi College where he received a B.A. in History and an M.S.S. in Political Science. He also received a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Florida. Brown and his wife Adriane, along with their three children, reside in Clinton, Mississippi.

“Central Florida businesses and consumers benefit from the billions of private dollars spent every year by freight railroads on the rail network that connects us to the global supply chain. In 2005, Haines City invested in their infrastructure by building a railroad spur that connects the Haines City Industrial Park to the main CSX line. Creating this rail access and putting the infrastructure in place is an additional recruitment tool for Haines City to bring industry and create jobs in our area.”

Cyndi Jantomaso has served in the capacity of Deputy Director, Director and now President/CEO of economic development for the Haines City Economic Development Council (EDC) located in Central Florida. She was recently appointed by the Polk County Board of Commissioners to the Northeast Polk County Roadway Advisory Committee. Jantomaso serves on the Board of Directors for the Haines City Chamber of Commerce, as a General Partner with the Central Florida Economic Development Council, and she is a member of the Florida Economic Development Council and the International Economic Development Council.

A Massachusetts native, Jantomaso is a long-time resident of Florida.

“Rail access is crucial to making Broward County’s Port Everglades even more successful. The port’s rail hub, completed in 2014 through a public-private partnership, has increased capacity and efficiency significantly, adding thousands of local jobs and taking 180,000 trucks off our roads in the process.”

Representative Chip LaMarca became active in public service in 2002, serving on many City of Lighthouse Point boards and committees. In 2005, he was elected to a seat on the Lighthouse Point City Commission. In 2010, after serving the citizens of Lighthouse Point for two terms, LaMarca was elected to serve on the Broward County Board of County Commissioners. LaMarca was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2018.

LaMarca represents Broward County on the Florida Association of Counties Board of Directors and Chairs the Finance, Tax and Administration Committee. He is also a Co-Chair of the Broward Six Pillars strategic planning program. On a national level, he has been selected to serve on the National Association of Counties Board of Directors. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Large Urban County Caucus and is a member of the Community and Economic Steering Committee.

“Energizing New Jersey’s economy is a top priority, and the health of our freight railroads is a critical factor. Here in our state and all around the nation, railroads are pulling their weight by investing massive amounts of private capital – not taxpayer dollars – to improve and expand the rail network.”

Mr. Johnson was elected to serve the 37th District in the Senate in 2021. He has served as Assistant Majority Leader since 2022. The senator previously served in the Assembly from 2002-2021. There, he held the roles of Speaker Pro Tempore from 2018-2021, Deputy Speaker from 2014-2018, Majority Conference Leader from 2012-2013, and Deputy Conference Leader from 2010-2011.

Senator Johnson was raised in Englewood, New Jersey. He served twenty-four years with the Englewood Police Department, attaining the rank of Patrol Sergeant. He is also experienced in labor relations and has served as President of the State P.B.A. Supervisory Officers Association-Local #216. In 1999, he was appointed Undersheriff of Bergen County. He subsequently served as Sheriff from 2001 to 2002. In the days following September 11th, 2001, Sheriff Johnson served as commander of the force assisting the Port Authority Police securing the George Washington Bridge as part of Bergen County’s response to the terrorist attacks. When the newly elected Sheriff took office, Gordon Johnson was asked to continue with the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department as Undersheriff and did so until 2005.

The senator also served in the United States Army Reserve, retiring with the rank of Major in 2000. He is highly decorated and holds the National Defense Service Medal, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, NATO Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal and many more. In 1990, Senator Johnson served in Operation Desert Storm, where he was responsible for two Convoy Support Centers in the Saudi Arabian Desert. In 1996, he was deployed to Germany in support of Operation Joint Endeavor where he was part of a team that coordinated the activities and missions of the Civil Affairs units stationed in Bosnia.

Senator Johnson graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas College with a bachelor’s degree in social science and holds a master’s degree in administration and supervision from Seton Hall University. In addition, he is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

He and his wife, Jacqueline, have three children.

“Private sector investment in the rail network has a multiplier effect for businesses in Pennsylvania and throughout the economy. The expansion of East Penn Manufacturing in Berks County, which added approximately 400 jobs to our region, is a great example of this success.”

Commissioner Christian Leinbach has been a Berks County Commissioner since 2008 and Board Chair since 2012. In 2013, he served as President of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. Leinbach was elected to the National Association of Counties (NACo) Board in 2012 and in 2014 was elected to the NACo Executive Committee. Leinbach also served as President of the National Association of Republican County Officials (NCRCO) in 2013-14 and received the NCRCO Republican County Official of the Year Award for 2014. The PA Department of Community and Economic Development awarded Leinbach the C. Alan Walker Award for Public-Private Partnerships in 2014 and the Governor’s Award for Local Government Excellence in 2015.

Leinbach and his wife Jennifer have been married for nearly 35 years and live in a log home.

“We’ve seen the economic power of rail firsthand in Gloucester. The newly developed Port of Paulsboro, which will create thousands of jobs in our region, would not be possible without access to the nationwide rail network. Rail makes it possible for our port to reach the entire country.”

Dave Mayer was first elected Mayor in November 2009 and then re-elected in 2013. He began his service as an elected in May of 2003 when he was elected to the Gloucester Township Council. Mayer was then elected to the State Assembly in 2003 and 2005, where he served on the Assembly Transportation and Education committees and sponsored many pieces of legislation including the New Jersey Stars program.

Mayer earned a B.A. from Rutgers-Camden, a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Administration also from Rutgers-Camden and a Law Degree from Rutgers-Camden School of Law. He has taught courses in political science, public administration and public policy at Camden County College, Rutgers-Camden and Rowan University.

“America’s freight railroads haul the goods that we need every day. Manufacturers, auto dealers, homebuilders, supermarkets, small businesses and everyone who does business with them rely on the nationwide rail network. Operations at the Port of New York and New Jersey, one of our region’s top economic engines impacting more than 300,000 jobs, are positively influenced by freight rail which helps to make the port more competitive.”

Chip Hallock has served as the CEO of Newark Regional Business Partnership where he has worked to connect business for a Greater Newark since 2000. Previously he was at the Paramus-based Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, including seven years as its president. Prior to CIANJ, he served as executive director of the Foundation for Free Enterprise. Hallock is a past member of the Board of Directors and Finance Committee for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), the national organization for chamber of commerce professionals, and is a past president of the New Jersey Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Hallock graduated from Moravian College with a B.A. in social sciences. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management at the University of Delaware.

“As the business representative to the home of the American rail industry, the Greater Baltimore Committee always strives to improve the competitive environment for the Class I freight railroads that service the Port of Baltimore and its inland markets. The freight railroad industry is a vital cog in the economics of the Port of Baltimore – 127,600 jobs, $2.9 billion in personal wages, and $310 million in annual state and local taxes – all of which makes Baltimore a leader in American industry.”

Donald C. Fry has been the President and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC), the central Maryland region’s most prominent organization of business and civic leaders, since November 2002. Fry served as GBC Executive Vice President from 1999 to 2002. From 1980 to 1999 Fry was engaged in a private law practice in Harford County. During this time he also served in the Maryland General Assembly. He is one of only a handful of legislators to have served on each of the major budget committees of the General Assembly.

Fry is a 1979 graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law. He earned a B.S. in political science from Frostburg State College.

“Freight rail in Connecticut greatly influences our local economy and is essential to the state and national economies as well. Whether people realize it or not, moving freight impacts almost every aspect of our daily lives, from commuting to work, to the clothes we wear, to the appliances in our homes.”

Rick Dunne is the Executive Director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments where he oversees administration of Regional Transportation Policy & Planning, Brownfields Redevelopment and Shared Municipal Service provision. Dunne is also the Co-Director of the Greater Bridgeport/Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization. He previously served as the Chairman of the CT Association of Councils of Governments, the lead advocate for regional solutions to municipal issues.

Previously, Dunne spent a decade as the Director of Development & Administration for the City of Derby, CT, and Policy Director for the Connecticut General Assembly’s Connecticut Institute of Municipal Studies.

“Many people don’t realize that freight railroads pay their own way with little help from taxpayers. Their massive infrastructure investments in turn benefit Connecticut’s economy—making it more efficient and cost effective for our businesses to reach markets across the country and world.”

Michael McLachlan is serving his fourth term in the Connecticut State Senate representing the communities of Danbury, Bethel, New Fairfield and Sherman. A Deputy Minority Leader, McLachlan is ranking member on the General Assembly’s Government Administration and Elections Committee. He also serves on the Judiciary and the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees. He serves as ranking member of the Finance Committee’s General Bonding Subcommittee.

Prior to being elected to the Senate, McLachlan served as Chief of Staff for Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and had a successful career in financial services including automotive fleet, mortgage banking and small business lending. A Danbury native, McLachlan is a commercial realtor with his own company, Hat City Real Estate, LLC.