ATLANTIC CITY – At a gubernatorial forum as part of the New Jersey Transaction Transportation Conference, Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-16) fielded a question from InsiderNJ about whom he’d install to head the Department of Transportation in a Ciattarelli Administration.

Ciattarelli looked out into the audience and found his former colleague on the Somerset County Freeholder Board, retiring Freeholder Peter Palmer, who sat at a round table planted near the front of the room.

“I’d pick Peter Palmer,” Ciattarelli said.

A member of the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders since 1997, Palmer plans to retire from the board this year.

Regarded as a transportation expert, Palmer received his Bachelor’s Degree from Cornell University in electrical engineering and a Master of Science Degree in Engineering from Princeton University. He serves as a member of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority from 1999-present and is the authority’s sitting chairman. Palmer also serves as chairman of the Freight Initiatives Committee and is a member of the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition.