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CALIFORNIA FEELS EFFECTS OF THE OBAMA VICTORY
By Michael Doyle
Fresno Bee
Nov 7 2008
CA
WASHINGTON -- This week's historic election brings with it a new
batch of California winners and losers. Count one-time Fresno resident
Michael Robertson among the winners.
Robertson took time off from graduate study at Georgetown University
Law Center to help run Barack Obama's Capitol Hill operation.
Potentially, that sets Robertson up to write his own ticket in an
Obama administration.
"In Michael's case, they know him, and he obviously has political
skills," said Scott Nishioki, chief of staff for Rep. Jim Costa,
D-Fresno.
As congressional affairs director for the Obama campaign, Robertson
has been helping corral Capitol Hill support -- even when Obama's
Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, seemed to be on a roll.
Robertson did not return e-mails seeking comment about his plans.
About 3,300 presidential appointments will open up once Obama takes
office Jan. 20. Tens of thousands of people are expected to submit
their resumes and applications, a competition in which early loyalty
can pay off.
Other Californians will certainly be in the running for one position
or another. Robertson's colleague as Obama's Capitol Hill liaison,
Phil Schilero, is a longtime staffer for Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los
Angeles. His position, too, could put Schilero in line for a key
administration slot.
Administrations also recruit from the roster of campaign advisers.
Stanford Law School professor Mariano-Florentino Cuellar and University
of California at Davis law professor Jennifer Chacon, for instance,
have been advising the Obama campaign on immigration matters, while
UC Berkeley law school dean Christopher Edley Jr. has been offering
advice on legal affairs.
Job openings are not the only consequence of Obama's victory and the
corresponding strengthening of the Democratic grip on both the House
and Senate.
"I do see [California] as having much more influence," Democratic
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday. "I see us getting our calls
returned. I see us being able to make appointments so we can go up
and make our case."
Feinstein, for instance, predicted California would have an easier time
getting a greenhouse-gas-regulation waiver from Obama's Environmental
Protection Agency. The Clean Air Act permits California to craft
tougher environmental protections than the federal standards, but it
must first obtain a waiver.
Obama also has indicated that as president he will publicly affirm
that an Armenian genocide took place between 1915 and 1923. Previous
candidates have made similar pledges, only to disappoint the Valley's
tens of thousands of Armenian-American residents once in office.
"Joe Biden and I believe that the Armenian genocide is not an
allegation, a personal opinion or a point of view, but rather a
widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical
evidence," Obama said last week.
Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, added Wednesday that other aspects
of Obama's relationship with California "depend on who he appoints
to key positions," including interior secretary and secretary of
agriculture.
"It's critically important that we have someone from California high up
at the Department of Agriculture," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced.
Cardoza is suggesting the name of Bill Lyons Jr., a Modesto-area
rancher who headed California's Department of Food and
Agriculture. Cardoza further acknowledged he is "concerned" that an
Obama administration might clash with Valley farmers and ranchers on
endangered species and other environmental protection issues.
None of the San Joaquin Valley's congressional Democrats aligned
themselves with Obama early, when an endorsement might have earned
the most post-election chits. Cardoza endorsed Clinton in December
and then switched to Obama in May, on the same day that Costa endorsed
the surging Illinois Democrat. Newly re-elected Rep. Jerry McNerney,
D-Pleasanton, stayed out of the primary fight until Obama had wrapped
up the nomination.
Raising money for a campaign can translate into influence.
Hollywood moviemakers Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, for
instance, together with family members, funneled more than $150,000
into Obama's campaign; their phone calls will be returned. The
Valley, by contrast, did not produce many big contributors to the
Obama campaign.
By Michael Doyle
Fresno Bee
Nov 7 2008
CA
WASHINGTON -- This week's historic election brings with it a new
batch of California winners and losers. Count one-time Fresno resident
Michael Robertson among the winners.
Robertson took time off from graduate study at Georgetown University
Law Center to help run Barack Obama's Capitol Hill operation.
Potentially, that sets Robertson up to write his own ticket in an
Obama administration.
"In Michael's case, they know him, and he obviously has political
skills," said Scott Nishioki, chief of staff for Rep. Jim Costa,
D-Fresno.
As congressional affairs director for the Obama campaign, Robertson
has been helping corral Capitol Hill support -- even when Obama's
Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, seemed to be on a roll.
Robertson did not return e-mails seeking comment about his plans.
About 3,300 presidential appointments will open up once Obama takes
office Jan. 20. Tens of thousands of people are expected to submit
their resumes and applications, a competition in which early loyalty
can pay off.
Other Californians will certainly be in the running for one position
or another. Robertson's colleague as Obama's Capitol Hill liaison,
Phil Schilero, is a longtime staffer for Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los
Angeles. His position, too, could put Schilero in line for a key
administration slot.
Administrations also recruit from the roster of campaign advisers.
Stanford Law School professor Mariano-Florentino Cuellar and University
of California at Davis law professor Jennifer Chacon, for instance,
have been advising the Obama campaign on immigration matters, while
UC Berkeley law school dean Christopher Edley Jr. has been offering
advice on legal affairs.
Job openings are not the only consequence of Obama's victory and the
corresponding strengthening of the Democratic grip on both the House
and Senate.
"I do see [California] as having much more influence," Democratic
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday. "I see us getting our calls
returned. I see us being able to make appointments so we can go up
and make our case."
Feinstein, for instance, predicted California would have an easier time
getting a greenhouse-gas-regulation waiver from Obama's Environmental
Protection Agency. The Clean Air Act permits California to craft
tougher environmental protections than the federal standards, but it
must first obtain a waiver.
Obama also has indicated that as president he will publicly affirm
that an Armenian genocide took place between 1915 and 1923. Previous
candidates have made similar pledges, only to disappoint the Valley's
tens of thousands of Armenian-American residents once in office.
"Joe Biden and I believe that the Armenian genocide is not an
allegation, a personal opinion or a point of view, but rather a
widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical
evidence," Obama said last week.
Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, added Wednesday that other aspects
of Obama's relationship with California "depend on who he appoints
to key positions," including interior secretary and secretary of
agriculture.
"It's critically important that we have someone from California high up
at the Department of Agriculture," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced.
Cardoza is suggesting the name of Bill Lyons Jr., a Modesto-area
rancher who headed California's Department of Food and
Agriculture. Cardoza further acknowledged he is "concerned" that an
Obama administration might clash with Valley farmers and ranchers on
endangered species and other environmental protection issues.
None of the San Joaquin Valley's congressional Democrats aligned
themselves with Obama early, when an endorsement might have earned
the most post-election chits. Cardoza endorsed Clinton in December
and then switched to Obama in May, on the same day that Costa endorsed
the surging Illinois Democrat. Newly re-elected Rep. Jerry McNerney,
D-Pleasanton, stayed out of the primary fight until Obama had wrapped
up the nomination.
Raising money for a campaign can translate into influence.
Hollywood moviemakers Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, for
instance, together with family members, funneled more than $150,000
into Obama's campaign; their phone calls will be returned. The
Valley, by contrast, did not produce many big contributors to the
Obama campaign.