Richardson to head Commerce

President-elect Obama is set to announce Gov Bill Richardson (D-NM) as his secretary of Commerce at a Wednesday press conference in Chicago. The Department of Commerce's mission is to foster, serve, and promote the Nation's economic development and technological advancement. The Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information heads the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the President's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy issues, and in this role frequently works with other Executive Branch agencies to develop and present the Administration's position on these issues. Traditionally, the commerce secretary slot has gone to business executives, especially those who provided financial backing for the president's election bid. The current secretary, Carlos M. Gutierrez, had been chief executive of cereal giant Kellogg Co. President George W. Bush's first commerce secretary, Don Evans, was an oil-services company executive and one of the leaders of then-Gov Bush's campaign team in 2000.