Bill Richardson to head Commerce Department
Sacramento Business Journal - by Kent Hoover Washington Bureau Chief
President-elect Barack Obama named New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as secretary of commerce in his administration.
Obama said Richardson “will be an unyielding advocate for American business and for American jobs both at home and abroad.”
The Commerce Department houses a wide variety of agencies, including the Census Bureau, the Economic Development Administration, the International Trade Administration, the Patent and Trademark Office and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
Richardson, who served as secretary of Energy and United Nations ambassador during Bill Clinton’s administration, had been viewed as a candidate for secretary of State, but Obama chose another former presidential rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, for that post instead.
Obama dismissed a suggestion that secretary of Commerce was a consolation prize for Richardson.
“It’s a pretty good job,” Obama said.
Richardson will be a key member of his economic team, Obama said, especially on the most pressing issue facing his administration: “how to put people back to work and rejuvenate the economy.” The president-elect said he will count on Richardson’s help in creating strategies to create alternative energy jobs and open new markets for American goods and services.
Helping the U.S. “to once again be in the forefront of innovation” will top his agenda, Richardson said.
The Commerce Department is “the natural agency to serve as the programmatic nerve center in America’s struggle to rejuvenate our economy,” Richardson said.
Karen Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, called Richardson “a smart choice” to head the Commerce Department.
“His record, actions and words demonstrate a belief system that government needs to foster a healthy business climate if its goals are to stoke economic growth, entrepreneurship and innovation,” Kerrigan said. “He has a unique opportunity to put his self-proclaimed ‘pro-business Democrat’ label to work as a key member of the cabinet.”
At Wednesday’s announcement, Obama and Richardson also shared a laugh when a reporter asked the governor why he had shaved his beard.
“I think it was a mistake for him to get rid of it,” Obama said. “I thought the whole Western rugged look was really working for him.”
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