Latinos In Obama's Cabinet

Since the "false start" on my previous post, we can say there will be at least three cabinet-level Latinos in Obama's cabinet.  We all know about Bill Richardson for Commerce and how that was supposed to be a "consolation price" for not getting the Secretary of State gig.  Like I commented on my previous post, he probably is the most qualified candidate for the SoS slot regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity.  I think it was equal parts qualifications and political calculation on Obama's part what landed H.R.C. the SoS gig.  But that's all water under the bridge.

Next we had Ken Salazar to become Secretary of the Interior.  Here's the Cliff Notes version of Who in the World is Ken Salazar.  Some details:

Would bring to the job: A decade’s worth of practice in water and environmental law in the private sector; two decades in government working on Western land-use issues, including water and natural resources; and experience in an assortment of political offices, including currently as a United States senator from Colorado, where he has been a supporter of renewable energy development. He also brings Latino roots and a powerful personal story: One of eight children, he grew up on a remote ranch in Colorado’s impoverished San Luis Valley without electricity or running water.

In his own words: “How we improve our energy security and reduce our dependence on foreign oil is the central national security, economic security and environmental security challenge of the next decade. It will determine whether we will continue to be entrenched in conflicts over resources in every corner of the world. It will determine whether we will triumph in our fight against oil-funded extremists and terrorists. And it will determine whether our economic fortunes will hinge on the price of oil that OPEC sets, or whether the U.S. will stand independently, as the world’s innovator for clean energy technologies.” (speaking at the Denver World Affairs Council, Nov. 16, 2007).

Obama also selected Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary.  Who is she?  Check out what the N.Y. Times had to say about her:

There is no doubt that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen a labor secretary who could be a transformative force in a long-neglected arena. The question is whether he will let her.

Hilda Solis, a United States representative from Southern California, is the daughter of immigrant parents with union jobs. She has been an unfailing advocate of workers’ rights during eight years in Congress and before that, in California politics.

Ms. Solis has been a leader on traditional workplace issues, like a higher minimum wage and an enhanced right to form unions. She also has helped to expand the labor agenda by sponsoring legislation to create jobs in green technology, and in her support for community health workers and immigration reform.

Her record in Congress dovetails with the mission of the Labor Department, to protect and further the rights and opportunities of working people. It also dovetails with many of the promises Mr. Obama made during the campaign, both in its specifics and in its focus on the needs of America’s working families.

All three are quality persons who will be in key positions in the next administration.  And they all happen to be Latino.

Oh, and btw, Adolfo Carrión did get . . . something.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. is slated to direct the newly created White House Office of Urban Policy, sources familiar with the appointment said last night.

The moral of the story?  Don't count your chickens until they hatch.