web.archive.org

Federico Peña

️Sat Mar 15 1947

8th United States Secretary of Energy
Federico Fabian Peña

In office March 12, 1997 – June 30, 1998
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Hazel R. O'Leary
Succeeded by	Bill Richardson
12th United States Secretary of Transportation
In office January 21, 1993 – February 14, 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Andrew Card
Succeeded by	Rodney E. Slater
Personal details
Born	March 15, 1947 (age 64) Laredo, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Cindy Velasquez (previously married to Ellen Hart Pena)
Children	Nelia Pena Cristina Pena Ryan Pena
Alma mater	University of Texas-Austin

Federico Fabian Peña (born March 15, 1947) was United States Secretary of Transportation from 1993 to 1997 and United States Secretary of Energy from 1997 to 1998, during the presidency of Bill Clinton.

Born in Laredo, Texas, Peña earned a B.A. (1969) and a J.D. (1972) from the University of Texas at Austin and The University of Texas School of Law, respectively. Moving to Colorado, where he became a practicing attorney, Peña was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1979, where he rose to become Minority Leader. In 1983, Peña defeated a 14-year incumbent, William H. McNichols, Jr. to become the first Hispanic Mayor of Denver, a post to which he was re-elected in 1987.

Peña advised Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton on transportation issues during Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign, and Clinton chose Peña to head the United States Department of Transportation. Although he had intended to leave Clinton's cabinet after a single term, Peña also served as Secretary of Energy for one year, from 1997 to 1998.^[1] In 1995 the Justice Department conducted a preliminary investigation into a California transit agency's awarding of a pension management contract to Peña's former investment management firm. However, Peña had severed all ties to his former company both prior to the contract and prior to becoming Transportation Secretary. On March 17, 1995 Janet Reno ended the investigation.^[2]

Upon leaving the Clinton administration, Peña returned to Denver and joined investment firm Vestar Capital Partners in August 1998, as Senior Advisor. On January 18, 2000, Vestar announced that Peña had been promoted to one of the firm's Managing Directors.^[3]

Peña Boulevard, a freeway in Denver and neighboring Aurora connecting Denver International Airport to Interstate 70, is named for him. As mayor of Denver, Peña led the effort to build the airport. Several of his relatives and cousins were mysteriously awarded contracts to provide works of art to adorn this project, which was one of many ways the airport was catapulted into being over budget.^{[citation needed]}

Peña is the father of three children: Nelia, Cristina, and Ryan Peña. The divorce of Federico Peña and his first wife, Ellen Hart Peña, became final on September 10, 2001. Federico Peña married Cindy Velasquez on September 2, 2006. Cindy Velasquez is a former broadcast executive for Channel 7, KMGH-TV, and Channel 9, KUSA-TV, in Denver, Colorado.

Peña is also known for the case Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña, 515 U.S. 200 (1995), which overruled Metro Broadcasting v. FCC, 497 U.S. 547 (1990), and held that all cases dealing with racial classifications must be reviewed using "strict scrutiny."

On September 7, 2007, Peña announced that he would endorse Senator Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election, and also serve as Obama's National Campaign Co-chair. The move was notable in that Peña did not endorse Senator Hillary Clinton, the wife of the president under whom he served.^[4] On November 5, 2008, he was named to the advisory board of the Obama-Biden Transition Project.^[5]

References

^ Pena Resigns as Energy Secretary, Citing Concerns for Family, NY Times, April 7, 1998 [1]
^ Secretary of Transportation Will Not Face a Prosecutor, NY Times, March 17, 1995 [2]
^ http://www.vestarcapital.com/news/details.aspx?id=178
^ CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Clinton cabinet member backs Obama « - Blogs from CNN.com
^ Sweet, Lynn Jarrett, Podesta, Rouse to lead Obama transition; Bill Daley co-chair Chicago Sun-Times, November 5, 2008

Political offices
Preceded by William H. McNichols, Jr.	Mayor of Denver 1983–1991	Succeeded by Wellington Webb
Preceded by Andrew Card	United States Secretary of Transportation Served under: Bill Clinton 1993–1997	Succeeded by Rodney Slater
Preceded by Hazel R. O'Leary	United States Secretary of Energy Served under: Bill Clinton 1997–1998	Succeeded by Bill Richardson

v · d · eMayors of Denver, Colorado

Cook • Steck • Brendlinger • Clark • DeLano • Clayton • Stiles • Harper • Bates • Case • Barker • Buckingham • Stiles • Sopris • Morris • Routt • Bates • Lee • Londoner • Rogers • VanHom • McMurry • Johnson • Wright • Speer • Arnold • Perkins • Sharpley • Speer • Mills • Bailey • Stapleton • Begole • Stapleton • Newton • Nicholson • Batterton • Currigan • McNichols • Peña • Webb • Hickenlooper • Vidal

v · d · eMayors of Denver, Colorado

Cook • Steck • Brendlinger • Clark • DeLano • Clayton • Stiles • Harper • Bates • Case • Barker • Buckingham • Stiles • Sopris • Morris • Routt • Bates • Lee • Londoner • Rogers • VanHom • McMurry • Johnson • Wright • Speer • Arnold • Perkins • Sharpley • Speer • Mills • Bailey • Stapleton • Begole • Stapleton • Newton • Nicholson • Batterton • Currigan • McNichols • Peña • Webb • Hickenlooper • Vidal

v · d · eUnited States Secretaries of Energy

Schlesinger • Duncan • Edwards • Hodel • Herrington • Watkins • O'Leary • Peña • Richardson • Abraham • Bodman • Chu

v · d · eUnited States Secretaries of Transportation

Boyd • Volpe • Brinegar • Coleman • Adams • Goldschmidt • Lewis • Dole • Burnley • Skinner • Card • Peña • Slater • Mineta • Peters • LaHood

v · d · eCabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

Cabinet

Secretary of State	Warren Christopher (1993 – 1997) • Madeleine Albright (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of the Treasury	Lloyd Bentsen (1993 – 1994) • Robert Rubin (1995 – 1999) • Lawrence Summers (1999 – 2001)

Secretary of Defense	Les Aspin (1993 – 1994) • William Perry (1994 – 1997) • William Cohen (1997 – 2001)

Attorney General	Janet Reno (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of the Interior	Bruce Babbitt (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Agriculture	Mike Espy (1993 – 1994) • Dan Glickman (1995 – 2001)

Secretary of Commerce	Ron Brown (1993 – 1996) • Mickey Kantor (1996 – 1997) • William Daley (1997 – 2000) • Norman Mineta (2000 – 2001)

Secretary of Labor	Robert Reich (1993 – 1997) • Alexis Herman (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Health and Human Services	Donna Shalala (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Education	Richard Riley (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Henry Cisneros (1993 – 1997) • Andrew Cuomo (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Transportation	Federico Peña (1993 – 1997) • Rodney Slater (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Energy	Hazel O'Leary (1993 – 1997) • Federico Peña (1997 – 1998) • Bill Richardson (1998 – 2001)

Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Jesse Brown (1993 – 1997) • Togo West (1998 – 2000) • Hershel Gober* (2000 – 2001)

* acting secretary.

Cabinet-level

Vice President	Al Gore (1993 – 2001)

White House Chief of Staff	Mack McLarty (1993 – 1994) • Leon Panetta (1994 – 1997) • Erskine Bowles (1997 – 1998) • John Podesta (1998 – 2001)

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Carol Browner (1993 – 2001)

Ambassador to the United Nations	Madeleine Korbel Albright (1993 – 1997) • Bill Richardson (1997 – 1998) • Richard Holbrooke (1999 – 2001)

Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Leon Panetta (1993 – 1994) • Alice Rivlin (1994 – 1996) • Franklin Raines (1996 – 1998) • Jacob Lew (1998 – 2001)

Director of National Drug Control Policy	Lee Brown (1993 – 1995) • Barry McCaffrey (1996 – 2001)

Trade Representative	Mickey Kantor (1993 – 1997) • Charlene Barshefsky (1997 – 2001)

Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency	James Lee Witt (1993 – 2001)*

Director of Central Intelligence	John Deutch (1995 – 1996) • George Tenet (1997–2001)

Administrator of the Small Business Administration	Erskine Bowles (1993 - 1994) • Philip Lader (1994 – 1997) • Aída Álvarez (1997–2001)

* took office in 1993, raised to cabinet-rank in 1996

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)