As President Barack Obama begins his term of office, AARP Segunda Juventud examines how the changes heralded by the new White House leadership will impact older Hispanics. Part VI: Interview with Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
When President Barack Obama chose Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado to head the Interior Department, he selected a Democrat widely respected on Capitol Hill for his moderate views. He also picked a loyal supporter whose campaigning helped candidate Obama win the key swing state of Colorado and played a central role in Obama’s efforts to break the Republican lock on other areas of the West.
In reaching out to Salazar, Obama also sent a message to the Hispanic community that he’s willing to place Latinos in high-profile Cabinet jobs. Salazar is the second Hispanic to head the Interior Department: the first was New Mexican Manuel Lujan, Jr. in President George Herbert Walker Bush’s administration.
With his signature cowboy hats and boots, Salazar, 53, revels in his background as a Westerner. His roots go back hundreds of years, to the first Spanish settlers in the American Southwest. Salazar is also proud of his family’s ranching tradition. At his confirmation hearing, he claimed that he learned to shoot a gun when he was just 3 years old.
A former Colorado attorney general who was elected to the Senate in 2004—the same year his brother John was elected to the House of Representatives—Salazar has at times split with his party. He cast one of the few Democratic votes to confirm Alberto Gonzales as U.S. Attorney General. (Salazar ultimately joined other senators calling for Gonzales’s resignation.) He also supported a partial lifting of the ban on offshore drilling.
In the few weeks after his confirmation, he has hit the ground running and promises to meet the challenges at the Interior Department—which has suffered a series of scandals—“with the high energy I bring to the job.”
Salazar moved quickly to implement agency reforms and reverse Bush administration decisions in favor of wide-scale offshore drilling. Salazar also canceled oil and gas leases on dozens of parcels of land near Utah’s famed canyons.
He spoke to AARP Segunda Juventud about his roots, his love of the land, and his agenda for Interior.
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Why do you think President Obama chose you to head the Interior Department? What special attributes do you bring to this position?
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I think he chose me because of a combination of my personal life story and my background as a farmer and rancher. In my time in the U.S. Senate, I tried to craft an energy policy.…I will be part of President Obama’s efforts to achieve energy independence and enhance the landscape. I am also part of his reform agenda.
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What is your relationship with the President?
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I have a good relationship, a personal relationship. I have tremendous confidence in him. He truly is a uniter, not a divider.
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How does your background affect the way you’ll handle the issues you will be dealing with as Interior secretary?
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My family has spent 400 years farming on the banks of the Rio Grande. We know the value of hard work, love of the community, love for water and land. One of the missions of the department is to work with many kinds of people. Native Americans and Hispanics have not always had a place at the table. We will make sure that we acknowledge the contribution of all people.
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How would you describe your management style?
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I work hard and I have a standard of excellence—and I expect everyone at the Interior Department to meet that same standard. I delegate a lot. I might appear to be doing a lot of different things, but there’s a strong team helping me. I believe we’re going to have the strongest team of any agency in the Obama administration.
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