Annette Sandberg, who was appointed Nov. 25 as deputy administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), may wind up vying for "sheriff" to lead the agency, sources told Land Line.

However, any candidate for FMCSA administrator must gain Senate confirmation.

Sandberg's appointment required no congressional action, since she moved to FMCSA from another federal agency - the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Since September 11, 2001, FMCSA, like all federal agencies, has added security to its list of priorities. That emphasis will continue as the new Department of Homeland Security takes shape the next two years.

And it appears Sandberg's credentials in law enforcement, plus her NHTSA experience, are a match for FMCSA's continuing dual role to monitor truck safety and security as it relates to trucking issues.

When she was appointed as deputy administrator of NHTSA, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said, "We are fortunate to have a person of Annette's distinguished background in law enforcement and traffic safety."

Sandberg spent more than 17 years in a variety of law-enforcement, supervisory and administrative posts with the Washington State Patrol, including nearly six years as its chief. She's an attorney by training, having practiced law in Olympia, WA.

When appointed to the Washington State Patrol in 1995, she was the first woman in the country to head a state police agency. Sandberg received her law degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law and her MBA from City University in Bellevue, WA.

She was also chosen to attend executive institutes at Harvard University and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
-By Dick Larsen, senior editor