Haigh to resign as chair of Twin Cities' Metropolitan Council

Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh informed Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton this week that she will leave her council post to focus full time on her duties as president and chief executive officer of the Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.

Haigh has agreed to remain in the post until Dayton names her successor, Metropolitan Council officials said in a press release.

"This job has been the capstone of four decades of service in the public sector and I'm proud of tremendous accomplishments of the council and our dedicated staff," said Haigh.

During her tenure, the council constructed and opened light-rail and bus lines, as well as advanced extensions of various lines in the federal funding process. She also was an advocate for a transit sales tax.

"The transit sales tax is critical to the ability of this region to compete with other regions throughout the world. I am hopeful that in coming years, the Minnesota Legislature will see fit to pass a funding plan that allows the kind of transit build out large employers and residents have come to expect of major metropolitan areas," she said.