326. Obama's Nomination for Secretary of Commerce

Well, the reports were wrong. Not John Thompson or Padrasmee Warrior, but Judd Gregg.


Photo from Getty Images

I don't like this nomination much myself. He's got a poor track record on environmental issues, and scores a puny 43% approval rating from the League of Conservation Voters 2006 scorecard. The LCV is fairly middle-of-the-road among environmentalists. For example, they approved the nomination of Ken Salazar for Department of Interior Secretary (after giving him only a 71% approval rating on his 2006 scorecard) while many wilderness organizations were disappointed. If the League gives a poor approval rating, there are definitely reasons to be concerned.

Gregg is a staunch Republican and as a U.S. Senator, has voted more than 77% of the time with the Republicans.

No doubt, President Obama selected him to undermine Republican opposition to his economic policies. But on the environmental front, it looks bad.

On January 8, 2009, he co-sponsored a bill with Senator Inouye about acquiring coastal resources to "protect them" and after a quick glance at the bill, I think it seems fine. But Senator Inouye is strongly aligned with Wespac, and I wonder if I'm missing something! I hope that someone with more knowledge will comment on this.

And this is likely to be our new Commerce Secretary, the one who will have some important voice in the creation of our Monument plan, starting with having to approve nominations to the advisory council.

He, himself, once tried to kill the Commerce Department, voting for its abolishment in 1995, according to this article. It doesn't seem like he would be all that chuffed about our Governor nominating Wespac-influenced opponents of the Monument to the new Monument Advisory Council.

And if all that weren't enough to cause concern, Wendy notes in her recent blog post that Kevin Koonce, one of the men somewhat ensnared in the Abramoff scandal net, worked as Legislative director for him at one point.

Some Thoughts on our Marine Monument

The Marianas Variety recently announced that Governor Fitial has named his three candidates for the Mariana Monument Advisory Council. Nominated: Benigno M. Sablan, a member of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council; Joaquin P. Villagomez, a former member of Wespac’s advisory panel; and Sylvan O. Igisomar, the director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

I can only say how very disappointed I am in our Governor for nominating three people who opposed the creation of the national marine monument here.

Note, the Variety would have the three men already in these positions, reporting incorrectly in its headline that Governor Fitial appointed them to the posts: Governor Fitial does not appoint the members of the Mariana Monument Advisory Council. He nominates them for appointment, which will be done by the U.S. Secretary of Interior and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Both Angelo and Lil Hammerhead have good posts on the subject. I agree with Lil's sentiments, but I like Angelo's less-emotional, more dealing-with-reality-as-it-is thinking.

Angelo's take (paraphrased by me):

The nominations should be based on principals, not personalities.

Principals could include designating people in key positions related to the monument. Yes, even Sylvan Igisomar, who, as head of DFW, holds a relevant governmental office.

Principals could also include nominating people who are excited and energetic about the national marine monument and who would work tirelessly to make it the best it can be. That's not likely to be any of the three named.

Principals could even include nominating the Attorney General, since the first order of business will involve legal work and drafting regulations, etc.

But picking political supporters who backed you to the hilt in your uninformed (some would say wilfully ignorant) opposition to the creation of a monument--that's not principaled, that's just cronyism and personal politics.

And there is that small bit that two of the three are not "officials of the government" so do not technically qualify for nomination, per the original designation of the Monument. See page 6 of this official Federal Register publication of the designation. (Sorry, the page loads slowly.)

So, the actual appointment will by the Secretaries of Interior and Commerce-new Obama officials. As to the two people who will make the final decision about the Mariana Monument Advisory Council, we have some information to process. President Obama has already announced his choice of Ken Salazar for the post of Secretary of Interior. We don't yet know who will be chosen for the Commerce position in the Obama Administration.

I have no opinion about Ken Salazar, although the reports are decidedly mixed when asking conservationists about him. It may be likely that Governor Fitial's nominations will be approved, but until that happens, we need to stay tuned.


More monument news:
The other news in today's paper about the monument was that out-going Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne designated the Division of Fish & Wildlife as the lead agency in managing the monument. This is different than the management procedures for Papahanaumokuakea Marine Monument, where NOAA Sanctuaries has the lead.

I'm still trying to get a line of what this will mean.

At least it means Wespac will not be the lead agency. :-)