LDS Utahn tapped for environmental post
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U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Utah governor Mike Leavitt as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Aug. 11.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gov. Leavitt would join an elite group of Latter-day Saints who have served the U.S. Government in cabinet-level positions: former Church President Ezra Taft Benson served as Secretary of Agriculture from 1953-1961; David M. Kennedy served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1968-1971, as well as Ambassador at Large for the U.S. and U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; former Michigan Governor George W. Romney served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1969-1972; and Terrel H. ("T.H.") Bell served as Secretary of Education from 1981-1984.
Many other Church members are serving in top governmental positions, or have served as top aides to previous presidents. Latter-day Saint Jeffrey R. Holmstead, for example, is the Assistant Administrator, Office of Air & Radiation, in the Environmental Protection Agency.
Three years into his third four-year term, Gov. Leavitt has served 11 years as Utah governor.
During a press conference held in Denver, Colo., President Bush called Gov. Leavitt the right man to lead the EPA.
"A trusted friend, a capable executive and a man who understands the obligations of environmental stewardship," he said of Gov. Leavitt. "In Utah and beyond, he has gained wide respect for handling environmental issues in a spirit of openness and bipartisanship."
Gov. Leavitt said during the press conference that he will leave Utah a better place than when he found it as governor.
"The air is cleaner, the water is more pure, the land better cared for, the people more safe," he said.
If the Senate confirms him, Gov. Leavitt said he will leave the EPA and the nation's environment "better than I found it."
E-mail: sarah@desnews.com
