A Democratic aide
has confirmed to The Advocate that
President-elect Obama will be naming Los Angeles
deputy mayor Nancy Sutley, who is gay, as a senior
member of his environmental team, as reported
Wednesday by the Los Angeles Times.
Sutley, who
currently serves as deputy mayor of energy and the
environment, will be named chairwoman of the Council of
Environmental Quality, which helps develop
environmental policy and advises the White House on
such matters.
The
leaked announcement comes at a time when gay Democrats
have been beginning to express concerns over the
absence of LGBT representation in President-elect
Obama's senior-level appointees. Sutley originally
supported Sen. Hillary Clinton in the primaries and
was a member of her Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Steering Committee in California.
But following the
election, Obama asked her to join a team that is
reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency. She will
become the first out person named to a prominent
position in the administration by President-elect
Obama.
Nancy Sutley has
a rich background in environmental public policy at both
the federal and state levels, having served on the
California State Water Resources Control Board, as
energy adviser to Gov. Gray Davis, and as the deputy
secretary for policy and intergovernmental relations within
the California Environmental Protection Agency. As an
appointee to the EPA, she helped shape water and air
pollution policy, lobbied congressional leadership,
and formulated budget and legislative priorities.
Denis Dison of
the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund said he was pleased to
see an LGBT appointee added to Obama's roster but still
has his sights set on a higher prize.
"I think the
community is still hoping that we will see an
openly LGBT cabinet secretary," Dison said. "There
are still names out there that we would like to
see appointed, like John Berry."
Berry, who
is director of the Smithsonian National Zoo and former
executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, is reportedly under consideration
for secretary of the Interior, the governmental
steward of all U.S. public land. The Victory Fund's Gay
and Lesbian Leadership Institute has been collecting
and vetting LGBT candidates who are qualified to serve
in the administration through its Presidential
Appointments Project. (Kerry Eleveld, Advocate.com)
