Obama names lesbian to green team

Obama names lesbian to green team

US President-elect Barack Obama has given the thumbs up to out lesbian Nancy Sutley to chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Sutley is reportedly the first prominent queer person appointed to the incoming President’s administration.

She has held high level positions in the country’s Environmental Protection Agency and was the Los Angeles deputy mayor for energy and the environment, playing a role in the city’s two main clean-air initiatives.

As the appointment is below cabinet-level Sutley is unlikely to meet or deal directly with Australian Climate Change Minister Penny Wong, also an out lesbian.

Announcing key members of his energy and environment administration last week, Obama said he had assembled a team to meet the great challenges ahead.

-œIn recent years, we have seen states and cities take the initiative in forging innovative solutions on energy. Nancy has been at the cutting edge of this effort, he said.

Sutley was reportedly a member of a steering committee on GLBT issues for Hillary Clinton during her failed presidential bid.

Described as an impressive behind-the-scenes achiever, US environmental and gay rights advocates welcomed the appointment.

However, the announcement that Reverend Rick Warren, a conservative evangelical pastor opposed to gay rights, would deliver the invocation at Obama’s inauguration next month upset many of those same gay rights advocates.

-œBy inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table, Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solomonese wrote to Obama last week.

-œWarren had spoken out strongly in favour of a successful gay marriage ban in California and has often played the role of general in the cultural war waged against LGBT Americans.

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