(Progressive Caucus Co-Chair)Grijalva in Running for Interior

[tekisui]

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) has emerged as a leading contender for Interior Secretary in the next administration, according to sources familiar with the transition.

Grijalva's experience and background meshes nicely with some of the Obama team's top requirements. The son of a migrant worker who grew up in Tucson, Grijalva boasts a strong environmental record and chairs the House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.

Choosing the congressman, who was just re-elected to his fifth term, would please both Latino advocates and the environmental community. Grijalva boasts a 95 percent lifetime score with the League of Conservation Voters, and he oversaw a federal study that linked oil and gas development on public lands with the decline in Western hunting habitat. He has also questioned the cheap grazing permits the Interior Department has leased to ranchers in the West.

Traditionally, the Interior slot goes to a Westerner. While many political observers had initially thought New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson might nab the post if he did not get picked for Secretary of State, he might end up as Commerce Secretary instead.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/11/21/grijalva_in_running_for_interi.html

[DCBob]

1. Hallelujah -- a progressive!!

:)

[tekisui]

2. .

:toast:

[Ian David]

3. He sounds good, but isn't it time for a Native Amerian to head The Dept of The Interior? n/t

[mmonk]

4. Yes, I heard this.

:hi:

[JohnnyCougar]

5. Grijalva is a dyed-in-the-wool progressive.

I really hope he gets it. The prospect of him in this position is exciting, and he would be perfect for the job.

[opihimoimoi]

6. Where are the Running Deer's and the Yellow Birds???

No Am. Indians??