Valley finds spots on Obama team thanks to Federico Peña

 The Rio Grande Valley, long an economic and geographic stepchild of Texas, has begun to figure more prominently on the national political scene as President-elect Barack Obama transitions into the Oval Office.

The area's new limelight comes from two key Valley appointments - Dr. Juliet V. Garcia, president of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, and Professor Espiridion "Al" Borrego, director of public administration at the University of Texas-Pan American - to Obama's transition team.

The person who helped make the Garcia appointment happen was none other than Brownsville native Federico F. Peña, the former and first Hispanic mayor of Denver who also served under President Bill Clinton as secretary of transportation and secretary of energy. Peña now is one of Obama's key advisors.

"I recommended her because of the extraordinary job she has done," Peña told The Brownsville Herald this week in a telephone interview from Denver.

He lauded Garcia's excellent reputation and said he holds her in high regard.

He recommended her along with other prominent Latino and Latina leading educators in the country, whom he did not name.

"The hard work now begins," said Peña, who also served as Obama's national campaign co-chairman.

He endorsed Obama a year and a half ago when he saw that Obama had the ability to become a "great president," Peña said.

And now, he said, he is in the midst of assisting in what he hopes will be a smooth transition from the Bush administration to the Obama administration. The fact that President George W. Bush has signed an executive order, requiring his administration to cooperate fully, should help, he said.

Peña said Obama's picks for his transition team reflect his support for education and the need to invest in it.

"This is very important to the Valley," Peña said.

The president-elect also is supportive of investment in infrastructure, good relations with Mexico, and trade, he said.

Peña retains his ties to Brownsville. His father, Gustavo Peña, still lives in the city. His mother is the late Ana Lucila Farias Peña.