De la Isla: Latinos reach for top echelons in transition

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WASHINGTON -- Names of present and future Hispanic political stars are floating in the capital sky like early winter snowflakes these days. The incoming Obama administration is sifting through them and an avalanche of resumes from other believers anxious to join the ranks of a promised diverse, new national leadership.Most prominent on the Hispanic list is New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, mentioned regularly as the best-qualified candidate in an extremely competitive field for assignment as the next U.S. Secretary of State. On Nov. 10, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a nonpartisan association composed of 26 leading Latino civil rights and public-policy organizations, wrote to President-elect Obama pressing Richardson's candidacy while forwarding dozens of risumis for other top and mid-level candidates. Some oxygen was sucked out of Richardson's chances when Hillary Clinton's name arose for the post. But disclosures about possible conflicts between Bill Clinton's public and private fundraising might have let the air back in.Federico Pena, the highest-ranking Latino on the transition team, already served in two Cabinet posts during Bill Clinton's two presidential terms in the 1990s. Pena reportedly might be more tempted with an inside the White House "senior presidential advisor" responsibility.Like the NHLA, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, with 20 Democratic Latino members, has formed a phalanx to place Latinos with exceptional resumes in high-profile positions. The names of two of its own members, U.S. Reps. Xavier Becerra of California and Sylvester Reyes of Texas, come up frequently.So too do those of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, as Homeland Security chief or a White House post concerning housing, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who serves on Obama's important economic transition brain-trust. Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado is mentioned in connection with the Department of Agriculture.Several major national Hispanic organizations such as the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, League of United Latin American Citizens, and National Counsel of La Raza funnel applications of hundreds of candidates for 7,000 government job opportunities listed in the federal "plum" book whenever there's a change in administrationsHispanics weren't represented at all when the initial13 top administrators on the important transition staff were chosen. Now Frank Sanchez, who headed up Latino fundraising during Obama's campaign, has returned to Washington from Tampa. He reportedly is already settling into a downtown office to concentrate on depth staffing and other administration appointments, working closely with Federico Pena at the very top of the transition echelons.Another transition group named Nov. 13 will review policies and agency budgets and prepare to hire new personnel with Treasury, Defense and State as its priorities. The ten-member body includes two Hispanics. Thomas E. Perez is concentrating on the departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affair, and Housing and Urban Development. Perez was a deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights under Attorney General Janet Reno during the Clinton administration.Ray Rivera is the other group member. He is a former director of the Obama-Biden campaign and former political director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Rivera is one of a handful Obama's national Latino vote directors who Cuauhtimoc "Temo" Figueroa singled out in praise for his efforts in Colorado during the campaign.Figueroa, who was a campaign intimate to President-elect Obama, is frequently mentioned for a West Wing appointment. Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle is reported to have been approached by party officials and key transition aides" about a senior job involving coordination between the White House and Cabinet-level agencies.Other names percolating up include Philadelphia Judge Nelson Diaz as HUD Secretary, and Maria Echeveste for the top Labor Department position. The Hillary supporter is married to Christopher Edley, University of California-Berkeley Law School dean who was Obama's law professor at Harvard. Linda Chavez Thompson, who retired in 2007 as an AFL-CIO vice president, is also known to be considered for a Labor Department spot.(Jose de la Isla writes weekly commentaries for Hispanic Link News Service. Email him at joseisla(at)yahoo.com.)