Governor Richardson pulls out of Secretary of Commerce nomination process

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico has decided to pull out of the nomination process for U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

Unfortunately, this decision has come on the heels of an investigation into his administration and its dealings with a state contracted company.  The investigation will question campaign contributions by a California company that would later receive municipal bond business in New Mexico.

Hopefully this probe will only show that the California Company’s contributions to the Richardson campaign had nothing to do with its landing of the state contract.

It saddens me to see another Latino stepping down from the national spotlight because of an investigation into ethics.  I hope that this and past events do not permanently tarnish the image of Latino professionals and our ability overcome adversity and maintain our integrity.

Obama nominates Richardson

Today President-Elect Obama nominated Bill Richardson to be his commerce secretary. Many expected him to receive the nod for Secretary of State, when it went to Hillary Clinton it seemed he had fallen out of the good graces of the President. However Barack remembered his endorsement early on in the campaign and has brought in yet another primary opponent to his cabinet.

Bill Richardson was Secretary of Energy under President Clinton and later United States Ambassador to the United Nations.

Better Know A Member

So today we have Shamil Rodriguez, Chair of the Hispanic Caucus of the College Democrats of America sitting down with me for our latest installment of Better Know A Member.

CP: So Shamil, why did you decide to become a democrat?
SR: My father went to Iraq and came back injured and he wanted me to go more on the education route. And he was afraid that I would be treated the same way he was, so for me, I just saw the war and I said why couldn’t I be one of those decision makers. Why can’t I be one of those guys that makes the decisions.

CP: So, you were president of College Democrats two years ago, what was it like 2 years ago?
SR: We used to have two meetings, it was a lot of infrastructure development. Our biggest concern was just being able to have consistent meetings and being able to have a few programs a year and increasing membership. We were unknown to everyone, people didn’t even know if there was a college democrats chapter on campus.

CP: So what was your biggest obstacle then?
SR: Increasing members, and increasing the active membership and developing infrastructure. Our executive board saw first hand what could happen to an organization if the entire e-board graduates. We had to literally re-create the wheel.