The Boston-based
group Equal Rep is now pushing for Fred Hochberg to be
appointed secretary of Commerce upon Gov. Bill Richardson's
withdrawal from consideration for the post, The
Boston Globe reports. If tapped, Hochberg, who
had originally been considered for the top post at the
Small Business Administration, would be the first
openly gay person to ever hold a cabinet position.
Sources with
knowledge of the transition process tell The
Advocate that President-elect Obama's team is
considering Hochberg for a senior position in the
Administration, though that position may not
necessarily be the Commerce post.
Denis Dison,
spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, echoed the
idea that Hochberg's prior experience in the Clinton
White House and current tenure as dean of New York's
Milano the New School for Management and Urban
Policy position him well for consideration.
“Fred
Hochberg is an extremely smart and talented public servant,
which is why his name repeatedly surfaces in
connection with senior posts in the Obama
administration," Dison said. "It’s incredibly
important that openly LGBT professionals have a voice at all
levels of their government, which is why we’re
backing Fred and others like him who want to serve the
president and their country.”
So far, no openly
LGBT person has been named to one of
President-elect Obama's 22 cabinet-level posts. The vacancy
left by Richardson's withdrawal is the last
remaining hope for a gay addition, since all other
senior-level cabinet positions have been filled.
"It was
devastating to learn that gay Americans wouldn't have a seat
at the table within Barack Obama's cabinet administration.
They are the only minority group to have never been
appointed in the history of the United States," Paul
Sousa, Equal Rep's founder, said in a statement. "Fred
Hochberg is supremely qualified and this opening is the
perfect opportunity for our president-elect to show
gay Americans they have not been forgotten and he is
truly committed to equal representation."
Equal Rep also
made the unsuccessful push for Mary Beth Maxwell to be
named secretary of Labor.
Hochberg appeared
on Out
Magazine's annual Power 50 list in 2009 at number
26. (Kerry Eleveld, Advocate.com)
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