Read a Pacific Northwest, liberal perspective on world, national, and local politics. From majestic Redmond, Washington - the Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Jay Inslee has a good shot at becoming Secretary of the Interior

NPI recently learned that that Representative Jay Inslee, who serves NPI's home district in Western Washington, is a likely pick to be Obama's Secretary of the Interior. Inslee is on the speculative short list along with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

There's been speculation that Inslee might be tapped for the job before, but over the last few days, we've been hearing it anew.

Inslee has served in Congress since 1999, when he replaced Rick White (having earlier represented Central Washington until losing to Doc Hastings in 1994) and was handily reelected this November. He has served on both the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Natural Resources Committee.

Inslee has attracted a lot of attention with his book Apollos's Fire: Igniting America's Clean Energy Economy in which he lays out his vision for a green economy powered by clean-, renewable energy.

The Huffington Post describes him this way:
Inslee...has long been an ardent advocate for clean, renewable energy technologies. He was one of the first to propose a comprehensive energy reform package, dubbed the New Apollo Project, aimed at weaning the U.S. off our oil dependence in a 2002 column he penned for The Seattle Times. (In it, he articulates a vision for a bold plan similar in scope to the Apollo space program -- hence the name.)
Inslee would be a good Cabinet choice, based on his expertise and vision for the same future that Obama has embraced. It may be that his work on mining reform and protecting America's roadless lands has attracted the new tansition team's attention, but whatever the case, it would be good to have the Pacific Northwest represented in the stellar team that Obama is assembling.

It is doubtful that any Cabinet appointments will be announced until after the long holiday weekend is over, but it's possible that Inslee - who was a Hillary Clinton supporter through the nominating season - could be joining Barack Obama's administration when January comes. We'll see.

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