Some ofthe bishops may have to up the dose on their heart meds.TalkingPointsMemo reports that a leading candidate for Secretary of Labor isan openly gaylabor activist (a protege of David Bonior) who is a former field director for NARAL. Oh, and she's Catholic, and--as her bio makes clear--an active member of her Washington, DC parish:
Prior to Jobs with Justice, Maxwell was Deputy Field Director for NARAL, directing the pro-choice organization's electoral, legislative, media, and fundraising training programs for local affiliates. She also served as Field Director for the United States Student Association where she designed field programs to organize students in targeted congressional districts to impact higher education policy, and managed a leadership development and grassroots action program, which mobilized thousands of students.Throughout her professional career, Maxwell has developed a rare acumen for building broad, sustainable coalitions among diverse sectors in support of policy reforms by directly involving those most affected by the decisions. Her calling to social justice activism is rooted in her Catholic upbringing in Omaha, Neb., and her undergraduate years at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., where she became deeply involved in civil rights, anti-poverty and women's rights issues. She graduated with honors, earning three degrees in English, Philosophy, and Political Science. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Partnership for Working Families and the Discount Foundation and is an active member of Sacred Heart Catholic Parish in Washington, DC, the Human Rights Campaign, the Family Equality Council, among many other groups. She and her 7-year-old son, Coleman Charles, reside in Washington, DC.
Maxwell would be an interesting choice for reasons aside from her being the first openly gay cabinet secretary.Her resume suggests someone who has been more of a social justice activist than a labor activist, per se. Often, the Secretary of Labor position in Democratic administrations has gone to a senior national official in a labor union, or someone with strong labor ties. President Clinton, however, appointed two secretaries (Reich and Herman) without that background, so this certainly wouldn't be unprecedented.While not an attorney, Maxwell is an expert in federal labor law and her appointment could signal that an Obama administration is serious about federal labor law reform. Of course, Maxwell is hardly the only appointment that Obama could make to send that signal and he might well prefer someone with a stronger professional background in labor law. Given the calibre of Obama's appointments so far, I'd say Maxwell has a better shot at an assistant secretary or NLRB position, but I've been wrong before.Theappointment of a openly gay practicing Catholic with a NARAL staff job on her resume will becontroverial in many parts of the Catholic community, particularly among the episcopacy.At the same time, the gay and lesbian community came out strongly for Obama and may feel the time is right for this sort of breakthrough appointment. I suspect Maxwell is the kind of person who will not back down from afight. The question is whether this is a fight Obama wants to have right now.
