Editor's Note: This is another installment in the Rapier's daily profiles of one of Barack Obama's nominees to a cabinet or high-level administration post.
Interior Secretary:
Born March 2, 1955. Salazar has been the junior Senator from Colorado since January 2005. A Democrat of Mexican descent, Salazar was born in the town of Alamosa, Colorado. He attended St. Francis Seminary and Centauri High School in La Jara, graduating in 1973. He later attended Colorado College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. After graduating, Salazar started private law practice, and in 1986, Salazar became chief legal counsel to then Governor Roy Romer.
In 1990, Romer appointed him Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. In this position, he authored the Great Outdoors Colorado Amendment, which created a massive land conservation program of which he became chairman. In 1994, Salazar returned to private practice. In 1998, he was elected state attorney general; he was reelected in 2002. Police operations were streamlined under Salazar, and serveral new branches of law enforcement were created: the Gang Prosecution Unit, the Environmental Crimes Unit, and the General Fugitive Prosecutive Unit, which targeted murderers.
As Colorado's Attorney General, Salazar actively opposed endangered species listing of the black-tailed prairie dog, which, despite its population declines, is still listed as a "pest" by Colorado. In 2004, Salazar declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell. Salazar considers himself a moderate and has at times taken positions that are in disagreement with the base of his party — for a number of years he opposed gay adoption, for example. Salazar lost to Mike Miles at the State nominating convention. In spite of this loss, the national Democratic Party backed Salazar with contributions from the DSCC and promotion of Salazar as the only primary candidate. Salazar came back to defeat Miles in the Democratic primary,and he narrowly defeated beer executive Pete Coors to win the general election. Salazar and his wife Esperanza "Hope" Salazar have two daughters.
Soon after arriving in the Senate, Salazar generated controversy within his party by introducing Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales and sitting by his side during Gonzales' confirmation hearings. On May 23, 2005, Salazar was among the Gang of 14 moderate senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the filibuster against judicial appointments, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the so-called "nuclear option". In 2005, Salazar voted against increasing fuel-efficiency standards (CAFE) for cars and trucks. In the same year, Salazar voted against an amendment to repeal tax breaks for ExxonMobil and other major oil companies.
In August 2006, Ken Salazar supported fellow Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman in his primary race against Ned Lamont in Connecticut. In 2006, Salazar voted to end protections that limit off-shore drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast. In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the US Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects.
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