LATINOS PRESS OBAMA FOR 3 CABINET POSTS
By Tamara Audi of the Wall Street Journal
Friday, January 18, 2013
A coalition of 30 prominent Hispanic groups is lobbying the President Barack Obama to appoint three Latinos to his cabinet.
A letter to Mr. Obama from the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, lists 19 potential candidates for cabinet posts from across the business and political realms.
The names on the list include Cesar Conde, president of Univision Communications Inc.; Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona; Richard Carmona, former U.S. surgeon general and former Democratic Senate candidate in Arizona; Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina.
The push comes as the Obama administration has faced criticism for administration’s lack of diversity. The recently announced departures of Labor Secretary Hilda Solisand Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will leave no Latinos in cabinet posts, said Hector E. Sanchez, chairman of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.
“We’re extremely worried as a coalition” about the lack of Latino representation on the cabinet, Mr. Sanchez said. He said the group is lobbying for three Latino cabinet members as a fair reflection of the country’s demographic make-up. “We need to be well-represented in the cabinet.”