Hispanic Caucus backs Grijalva for top committee slot
The
Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is backing Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s
(D-Ariz) uphill battle to become the ranking Democrat on the Natural
Resources Committee.
“As Democrats, we rightly pride ourselves on
our diversity and awareness of what it means to represent Americans
from all backgrounds and walks of life,” states a “Dear Colleague”
letter from the caucus circulated Thursday. “Few of our colleagues understand and embody that diversity and awareness as well as Raul.”
That
slot will open up if current ranking member Rep. Edward Markey
(D-Mass.) is elected to the Massachusetts Senate seat vacated by
Secretary of State John Kerry.
Grijalva faces very long odds
against Peter Defazio (D-Ore.), who’s next in line for the ranking
member slot by seniority and has support from a number of key Democrats.
But
the CHC, in the letter, calls Grijalva “one of the strongest public
land advocates our party has seen in a long time,” and says he is a
“consensus builder” among Latino, Native American, Western,
environmental and progressive communities.
Email from The Hill.
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