U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez likes to bring up the exact number of days left to take action in Barack Obama’s presidency. Perez even keeps a countdown calendar on his desk identifying Jan. 20, 2017 — the next president’s first day in office — as the day his “weekend” begins.
But Perez might have to wait for his weekend, as there’s growing buzz he could be an ideal vice presidential pick for Hillary Clinton if she wins the Democratic presidential primary.
Clinton is still in the midst of a tough fight against Sen. Bernie Sanders. While her campaign remains focused on that race, her huge victory in South Carolina’s Democratic primary on Saturday vaulted Clinton back into frontrunner status and polls indicate she’s set to widen that lead on Super Tuesday this week. So now Democrats are beginning to speculate about who she might tap as a running mate. Perez, according to some in the party, could singularly help Clinton appeal to progressives energized by Sanders’ campaign and help unify the party once he bows out.
Most of the early Clinton “veepstakes” chatter has focused on another member of Obama’s Cabinet, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has also generated considerable vice presidential speculation, as has Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., both of whom have been campaigning for her. Yahoo News has heard three other names when inquiries were made about who might be in the mix: Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and Perez.
Of these men, it is Perez who seems to have the most potential to appeal to the left flank of the party that has rallied around Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Already, one influential liberal Democratic senator was heard speaking privately on the Senate floor about what a “great pick” Perez would be for Clinton, according to two Democratic sources familiar with the conversation. A longtime Democratic Hill aide described Perez as a choice that would “satisfy the Warren wing of the party.”
Perez has emerged as a high profile and active surrogate for Clinton. Since endorsing her last December, Perez traveled to all four early-voting states to campaign for Clinton. He also hit the spin room for Clinton after the Democratic debate in Wisconsin on Feb. 11.
Both Perez’s office and the Clinton campaign declined to comment on this story.
The son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Perez grew up in Buffalo, New York. His father passed away when he was 12 years old, and Perez later put himself through Brown University by working in the school’s dining hall, at a warehouse, and as a garbage collector. From there he went on to Harvard University, where he obtained graduate degrees in law and public policy.
Perez began his career working as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice’s civil rights division. In the 1990s, he served as the principal adviser to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy on civil rights issues. Perez also served in the administration of Pres. Bill Clinton, as director of the Office for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. After a stint teaching law during the administration of Pres. George W. Bush, Perez got involved in Maryland politics and served on the Montgomery County council. He went on to lead Maryland’s Department of Labor licensing and regulation before returning to the DOJ in 2009 as the assistant attorney general heading up the civil rights division. Obama nominated Perez to become labor secretary in 2013, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a bipartisan 72-22 vote.
By Hunter Walker.
Culled from Yahoo News.
No comments:
Post a Comment