Senator Leftwich Elected to International Post

State Senator Debbe Leftwich has been named the new Secretary of North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to developing the world’s first international, integrated and secure, multi-modal transportation system along the International Mid-Continent Trade Corridor.

The corridor, which extends from Mexico to Canada, runs through Oklahoma along Interstate 35 to improve both the trade competitiveness and quality of life in North America.

Senator Leftwich’s late husband, Senator Keith Leftwich, was instrumental in the creation of NASCO.

“Developing this corridor will create future economic growth in South Oklahoma City and throughout Oklahoma. My husband was among the first to recognize the enormous economic impact the trade corridor could have on our state and I’m proud to continue the work that he began,” said Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City.

The NASCO Corridor directly impacts the continental trade flow in North America. Membership includes public and private sector entities along the Corridor in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Kansas City attorney George Blackwood will lead NASCO as the new President.

Manitoba’s Deputy Minister of Transportation and Governmental Services Andrew Horosko will continue serving as the NASCO Regional Vice President of Canada. Webb County, Texas, Commissioner Jerry Garza will be the Regional Vice President of the United States for NASCO. Captain Hector Mora Gomez, Port Director of the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico, will serve as NASCO’s Regional Vice President of Mexico.

Dale Vander Schaaf, of the Iowa Department of Transportation, will remain the organization’s Treasurer.

The North American Inland Port Network (NAIPN), a sub-committee of NASCO, has been tasked with developing an active inland port network along our corridor to specifically alleviate congestion at maritime ports and our nation’s borders. The NAIPN envisions an integrated, efficient and secure network of inland ports specializing in the transportation of containerized cargo in North America. The main guiding principal of the NAIPN is to develop logistics systems that enhance global security, but at the same time do not impede the cost-effective and efficient flow of goods.