Obama Eyes Openly Gay Labor Leader For Cabinet

Mary Beth Maxwell is on President-elect Barack Obama's short list to become the Labor Secretary. She is well respected in organized labor circles, openly gay and the mother of an adopted black son. If Maxwell is selected to be the next Labor Secretary, she will become the first openly gay member of a Presidential cabinet. From Queerty:

Beyond her rainbow diversity goodness, she's been lauded by both the left and the right as someone who is committed to making smart modernizations to the U.S. Labor movement. She's especially appealing to progressives who wonder if they'll have a seat in Obama's increasingly centrist Cabinet.

It's no surprise that she's on everybody's short list for Labor Secretary. Even Rep. David Bonior, whose also been put in the running for the job thinks she should get it. Many AFL-CIO leaders agree.

Worker's Rights are Human Rights

Even the Wall Street Journal is weighing in with an overall positive take on Maxwell:

Some labor leaders from both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, a splinter union group led by the Service Employees International Union, back her as a consensus choice, citing her efforts on behalf of legislation to allow unionization at workplaces with the signing of cards, not secret balloting.

Surprisingly, the Human Rights Campaign, in what many are calling a misstep, decided to endorse another candidate for the Labor Secretary position initially:

But guess which prominent gay rights group with a history of not supporting openly gay candidates backed somebody else?

Oh, Human Rights Campaign, you never fail to disappoint.

The HRC had endorsed Rep. Linda Sanchez for the post and suddenly realizing that "Hey! Maybe we ought to support this highly qualified Maxwell lady since you know, we've never had an openly gay person serve in a Cabinet-level position and what is it we do exactly again?" they decided to endorse both Sanchez and Maxwell. source

Maxwell is not quite a "done deal" however. Some argue that a more established politico, like a Governor, is what America most needs at the helm right now:

But Maxwell faces one big hurdle: star power. Given the wattage of Hillary Rodham Clinton at State, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano at Homeland Security, New York Fed President Timothy Geithner at Treasury, and Robert Gates continuing on as secretary of defense, many union leaders believe they need someone of more stature, such as a governor, even if that governor doesn't have the liberal and activist credentials of Maxwell. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius are being vetted for the job, along with Maxwell. source

So the choice comes down to Obama choosing a relative newcomer, rising star like himself or someone with a more traditional trajectory in politics. I say, go with change.

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