April 22, 2009 07:26 PM UTC

Who's Holding Up Strickland?

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• by: Colorado Pols

From the Colorado Independent:

Now that Ken Salazar is a member of the Obama Administration, his former Republican Senate colleagues – with whom he frequently caucused – can dispatch with all that upper chamber nicey-nice…

Though not completely, as it turns out:

A hold has been placed on the nomination of long-time Salazar associate and former U.S. Senate candidate Tom Strickland to be assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife. Strickland is now serving as Salazar’s chief of staff and will remain in that role should he be successfully confirmed to head federal nature conservation programs.

While no one has publicly admitted to the Strickland hold perhaps it’s to stymie the growing “Colorado cabal” at Interior where Salazar is stacking top Interior appointments with Centennial State colleagues.

The recent New York Times piece cited there also being interesting:

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who until January was himself a U.S. senator from Colorado, has chosen so many of his home-state friends and former colleagues for key positions that some Western lawmakers make cracks or show pride about it, while others — those who hail from other regions — express some wariness.

Udall said it speaks highly of the leadership of Salazar and Strickland, who has been serving as the secretary’s chief of staff and will keep that job even if confirmed as assistant secretary, that so many of their fellow Coloradans have voluntarily left the “best state in the union” to work in Washington.

“You’re going to have to excuse me again for indulging in a bit of home-state pride when I say how great it’s been to see so many Coloradans going to work for the department of the federal government that has so much influence on the economic life and really our quality of life in the West,” Udall said.

But others told Strickland flat-out that he and Salazar should not show a bias toward their home sweet home.

“We’re very happy to see all of our Colorado folks advancing right on up there, but we want to make just a point about the importance of the South and the Southeast and the East Coast,” Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) said. “We spend a lot of focus on the West, because most of the lands are out West and of course Alaska … but just a push to not forget the Southern states and these East Coast states.”

Naturally, we don’t think there’s anything to worry about with all these Coloradans taking of the Interior Department. That said, Tom Strickland has had his fingers in many, many pies over the years, including a stint as a lobbyist for Xcel Energy–so we’re not sure a hold on him for the fish and wildlife position, while likely resolvable whatever the reason, is a petty regionalist thing.

But being suckers for petty regionalism, let us just say, drill Louisiana, drill! Just not the Roan Plateau.