| Office: | President of Metro |
| Term Start: | January 7, 2019 |
| Office1: | Secretary of Transportation of Washington |
| Term Start1: | 2013 |
| Term End1: | 2016 |
| Birth Date: | 22 October 1968 |
| Birth Place: | Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Lynn Peterson | |
| Spouse: | Mark Peterson |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Lake Oswego, Oregon, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | University of Wisconsin |
Lynn Ann Peterson (born October 22, 1968) is an American politician in the U.S. state of Oregon serving as the council president of Metro.[1] Metro is the only directly-elected regional government in the United States, and spans 24 cities in the Portland, Oregon three-county area,[2] [1] along with many unincorporated suburbs in the Portland metropolitan area.
Peterson's career began in 1988 as an engineer for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Peterson has worked as a travel forecaster for Metro, a transportation advocate for 1000 Friends of Oregon, a strategic planner for TriMet, and as an independent consultant.[3]
Peterson began her political career as a city councilor in Lake Oswego, Oregon from 2003 to 2006.[4] She served as the chair of Clackamas County Commission from 2007 to 2011.
She resigned from the Clackamas County Commission when she was appointed to be a transportation adviser to Oregon governor John Kitzhaber.[5]
In 2013, she was appointed by Washington governor Jay Inslee as Secretary of Transportation, the chief of the Washington State Department of Transportation,[6] where she guided Washington's largest transportation funding package in its history: $16 billion.[7] In 2016, she was not confirmed by the Republican-controlled state senate, resulting in a controversial end to her WSDOT tenure.[8] Governor Inslee responded critically to the Republicans' action.[9]
Peterson was sworn in as Metro President on January 7, 2019.[10] She received 78 percent of the vote, defeating one opponent to replace Tom Hughes, who had served the limit of two consecutive terms.[11] She had been endorsed by many Oregon elected officials, and her campaign included a 24-city bike tour.[12]
On September 7, 2021, Peterson announced she will run for reelection.[13] She won a second term in the primary by receiving more than 50% of the vote.[14] [15]
On June 8, 2023, Peterson announced that she would be seeking the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 5th congressional district, currently held by Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer.[16] [17] She withdrew from the race on February 19, 2024.[18]
Peterson lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with her husband and three Alaskan malamute dogs.[4] In 2022, she wrote a book, Roadways for People: Rethinking Transportation Planning and Engineering, along with Elizabeth Doerr.[19]