Rosario Marin

Rosario Marin

Rosario Marin , née Spindola , (born April 4, 1958 in Mexico City ) is an American government official. She was Treasurer of the United States from August 16, 2001 until her resignation on June 30, 2003 . She is the first person since William Clark to hold the post and was not born in the United States .

Private life

Rosario Marin is the daughter of Mariano Spindola. Her father brought the family to the United States in 1972 on a visa provided by his employer at the time, a label manufacturer in California . The move initially met with resistance from Rosario because of her upcoming quinceañera and her fear of leaving their customs and traditions behind. Marin's family settled in Huntington Park, California, where her father found work as a caretaker and her mother as a seamstress. The family still visits their old home in Mexico at regular intervals , where they each celebrate a small fiesta in honor of it.

Her poor command of English was another reason Marin refused to come to the United States. In high school, she was given an intelligence test in which she scored 27 out of 100 and was subsequently said to have an intellectual disability. This low score inspired Marin to learn the language quickly. For this she heard the songs on the radio and repeated the words. In 1976 she was among the top 20 in her class, which comprised 500 students, and graduated with honors.

Her family had originally wanted her to forego further education and look for a job to support the family financially and to help her mother look after her siblings. Marin made a compromise, she went to work during the day and attended East Los Angeles College (ELAC) at night . After graduating in 1980, she attended evening classes on the Los Angeles campus of California State University (CSULA). Marin graduated there in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration . In 1984 she was naturalized.

In the early 1980s she married Alvaro "Alex" Marin, an immigrant from Nicaragua . Her husband also graduated from CSULA, where he received a diploma in sociology in 1979 . In 2002 he worked as a systems analyst for the city of Los Angeles.

Marin originally had a career in finance. While attending CSULA, she was hired as an assistant receptionist at City National Bank in Beverly Hills in 1981 . After several promotions, she was on the verge of becoming deputy vice president. However, their son Eric was born with Down syndrome in 1985 , so she quit her job the following year to look after him. At that time, she also interrupted her MBA course , in which she was enrolled.

Her son's condition inspired Marin to become an advocate for the mentally handicapped. During this time, she founded the first support group for Hispanic parents of children with Down syndrome, Fuerza Inc., an organization dedicated to providing services and support to mentally retarded children and lobbying Sacramento state officials on her behalf. At that time she also advised pregnant women with disabled children. As a result, she became an advocate for abortion law.

Political career

Civil service

The government became aware of them as a result of their lobbying work . In 1992, California Governor Pete Wilson named her Chief of Legislative Affairs in the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). In her new role, she continued to support the mentally handicapped. Two years later, she became chair of the Council on Developmental Disabilities , where she continued to advocate for the mentally disabled and their families. For her work on behalf of the mentally handicapped, Marin received the "Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Prize" from the United Nations in 1995 . She was the second person to receive this award. In 1996 she was appointed Assistant Deputy Director for the Department of Social Services .

While serving in the Wilson administration in 1994, she successfully ran for a council seat in Huntington Park. She served on the city council for seven years, including a term as mayor from 1999 to 2000. She was the first Hispanic person to hold the post. During her tenure, Marin became known as a politician of law and order. In this context, she was responsible for various public security initiatives that reformed the police force, increased its funding and reduced crime by 50%. In addition, in response to a government study of air pollution that listed Huntington Park as one of several communities as particularly at risk, it set up a task force to combat it and raided a black market for forged documents. Despite her political orientation, she was re-elected to the city council in 1999 with an overwhelming majority.

She was known to be a tough, but sometimes divisive, participant at city council meetings. Her opponents accused her of harsh behavior, while her allies even accused her of a certain arrogance. In 2000 she was reprimanded by the city council for her impolite behavior towards city council members and citizens. Critics also accused her of missing out on city council meetings and of misusing her travel budget. They justified their unlikely election victory with the "misrepresenting her true political leanings" and a "savvy use of the Spanish media."

Marin continued to work for Governor Wilson during his early years on the city council. In that context, she was appointed associate director of the Los Angeles Office of Community Relations in 1997. As the public face of the administration towards Hispanics, Marin had to deal with the delicate Bill 187 and other topics related to illegal immigration, which were the subject of heated debates within the state. Bill 187 was particularly unpopular in Huntington Park - a city that Marin himself described as "the most Mexican city outside Mexico". While personally opposed to the controversial bill, Marin was asked by the administration to support its position.

During that time, Marin served as an officer on several commissions: President of the Mayors and Councils Department of the League of California Cities , Vice Chair of the Latino Caucus, and Chair of the Southeast Community Development Corporation . She has also served on various boards such as the California Film Commission , the Special Olympics, and the National Association of Latino Elected Officials . In 1998 she graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government program for senior executives in the state and local government. In her last two years in office, she also worked for AT&T Corporation as Public Relations Manager for the Hispanic market in the Southern California region .

Marin was still active for the Republican Party . At the state level, she attended the 1996 Republican National Convention as a delegate for California . She was also Vice President of the California Republican National Hispanic Assembly .

At the national level, Marin was an ardent supporter of George W. Bush's presidential campaign in 2000 . In this context, she met the governor of Texas , was involved in Hispanic public relations in California and acted as a Spanish-speaking surrogate for him. Their reputation and skills in the state were noticed by the republican functionaries, so that their political prestige within the party increased dramatically. Shortly after the election of George W. Bush as US president , Marin was part of the presidential circle.

In April 2001, US President Bush nominated Marin for the post of Treasurer of the United States. She was ratified by the US Senate on August 3 and resigned from her position on the city council three days later.

Treasurer of the United States

US Treasury Secretary John Snow and US Treasurer Rosario Marin (2003)

On August 16, 2001, Marin took her oath of office as the new treasurer. The US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill presided over the ceremony. Marin became the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in the administration of US President George W. Bush and, as such, represented them to the Hispanic community.

Her duties included overseeing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint . In addition, she was also responsible for organizing the Ministry's first financially far-reaching educational endeavors. In addition, she participated in the new Partnership for Prosperity program between the United States and Mexico. Marin was primarily responsible for training young people with a focus on education and maintaining financial stability. She also represented US Treasury Secretary John W. Snow on the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans .

Like previous US treasurers, Marin served on numerous appearances on behalf of the US Treasury Department as their public face. On June 15, 2002, she served as the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony of her alma mater , CSULA, where she received an honorary doctorate in law and praise for her achievements. In the same year she was named "Groundbreaking Latina of the Year" by Catalina Magazine .

In April 2003, speculation arose that Marin would soon be returning to California to run as a Republican candidate against Democratic US Senator Barbara Boxer in the upcoming 2004 Senate elections. Speaking to the Californians in Washington, DC , reporters heard their attacks on the budget of Democratic Governor Gray Davis .

On May 22, the US Treasury Department issued a statement stating that Marin would resign from her post as US Treasurer effective June 30, 2003 and plan to move to California. Press reports at the time indicated that she would run for the 2004 Senate election.

NALL

Together with the media entrepreneur Cathy Areu , she founded the National Association of Latina Leaders (NALL) after her resignation as US Treasurer in 2003 and was its first chairman.

US Senate election campaign

In the 2003 gubernatorial election, incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis suffered a defeat from moderate Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger . Hoping to take advantage of the public sentiment at the time, Marin announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination for the US Senate on December 2nd. In a half-hour speech in her hometown of Huntington Park, she described herself as temperate and at the same time picked up on conservative Republican issues like national security and low taxes. During her subsequent campaign, she walked a political tightrope. In doing so, she tried both to emphasize her moderate philosophy and not to alienate the conservative party base.

Marin highlighted her Republican values, picked up on Ronald Reagan in her eloquence , announced her support for US President George W. Bush's $ 726 billion tax cut, and gave harsh speeches on Mexico. In this context, she gave her first keynote address in her campaign in February 2004 at the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda , where she called for more pressure on Mexico from the United States to adapt the existing treaties so that criminal foreigners can be deported. At the same time, she emphasized her own immigrant roots, advocated the U.S. President's guest worker program, which was unpopular with Conservatives, and expressed her support for registered partnerships and abortion rights, opposed to late abortions and for parental consent for underage abortions. Her candidacy was believed to have the best chance of defeating US Senator Boxer.

Despite receiving indirect endorsement from the White House as the preferred candidate, Marin has been attacked by her Republican party counterparts, particularly former Secretary of State of California Bill Jones , the leading Republican candidate, for their ramblings about another major immigration topic: driving licenses for illegal immigrants . Although she spoke out against the state law passed by Governor Davis in 2003 that granted them driver's licenses, she refused to join the federal faction established by US Congressman Tom Tancredo to punish these states. Subsequently, the Governors Schwarzenegger, their old boss Wilson and George Deukmejian , all spoke out in favor of Jones.

Critics expressed their doubts that Marin could raise the $ 25 million she needed to campaign because of her low profile. Her refusal to address important political issues drew further criticism. Meanwhile, the Democrats voiced their controversial remarks and censure during their tenure as councilor and mayor. California Democratic Congresswoman Hilda Solis and others questioned her Marins claim because she personally opposed Bill 187 in 1994, which was particularly annoying to the California Republican Party but did not do enough to publicly speak out. Marin's efforts to distance himself from the controversial bill and to move closer to the center were dismissed as posturing. Later she was referred to by a high-ranking Hispanic Democrat as "a good house Mexican for the Republicans".

There were 10 Republican candidates during the primary . Despite a sizeable number of undecided voters on Election Day, Marin was unable to beat Republican top candidate Jones in notoriety, funding, or party support. On March 2, Marin reached second place with 20% after Jones with 44%.

Schwarzenegger administration

After her defeat in the US Senate election campaign, she appointed Governor Schwarzenegger to the Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB), the state's solid waste agency that monitors and regulates recycling . Marin took her oath of office on April 27, 2004. Her colleagues then elected her chairman on September 21 of the same year.

On January 31, 2006, the governor named her Secretary of the California State and Consumer Services Agency (CSCSA), an agency responsible for the enforcement of civil rights, consumer protection and licensing of 2.3 million Californians in more than 230 different professions was. On September 7th, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the League of California Cities 108th Annual Conference .

In 2007 Marin published her memoir: Leading Between Two Worlds: Lessons from the First Mexican-Born Treasurer of the United States. The following year the Spanish version was published by Santillana. On May 10, 2008, Woodbury University awarded her an honorary doctorate for her achievements.

Marin continued her work on the part of the Republican Party and spoke on September 4, 2008 as a speaker at the Republican National Convention. The day before, she appeared with other prominent Republican women and condemned the unfair attacks on the vice-presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin , by the media, bloggers and the Democratic Party. Marin specifically pointed out her connection with Palin as her two children have Down syndrome.

In February 2009, Marin was the keynote speaker at the California Sustainability Alliance 's 2008 Sustainability Showcase Awards, where she discussed transforming the market through the implementation of California's Green Building Initiative .

Violations of ethics

On March 5, 2009, Marin resigned from her post as head of the CSCSA. This was because the Los Angeles Times was investigating the speaking fees it had received and was preparing to publish a report regarding an ongoing investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission (CFPPC) into its activities. A spokesman for Governor Schwarzenegger made a statement in which Marin violated administrative policy by banning public officials from receiving speaking fees. Marin later replied:

"Administration officials knew what she was doing and never advised her to stop."

The Los Angeles Times report and the CFPPC investigation found that between April 2004 and late 2007, Marin received more than $ 50,000 for various lectures from the American Program Bureau Lecture Agency. In addition, there were forms from a company, Marin and Marin, LLC, which she and her husband founded, that they would receive between $ 10,000 and $ 100,000 in speaking fees for each speech. The CFPPC noted that Marin received $ 15,000 from drug company Pfizer in 2007 for lobbying the Board of Pharmacy, a regulatory committee under its jurisdiction, and in 2008 $ 13,500 from Bristol-Myers Squibb for lobbying agencies she oversaw. Marin replied that most of the speeches were inspirational and that she had kept the Gourverneurs Office and Senate informed of them since her appointment to IWMB. The CFPPC originally initiated the investigation after a routine audit found that Marin was reporting her speaking fees as income.

In June, Marin reached an agreement with the CFPPC admitting three ethical violations. Despite being fined $ 15,000, Marin's fine was reduced to $ 5,400 after the commission accepted its position that it received poor legal advice from prosecutors regarding informing the administration. Schwarzenegger's office insisted that it was unaware of their lecture fees.

Trivia

Her entry into the Republican Party (GOP) shortly after her naturalization was largely influenced by two points: her boss at the City National Bank and the ideology of US President Ronald Reagan:

"Personal responsibility. Small government. Strong national defense. "

Marin joined a secret "stealth lobbying campaign" led by mortgage lender Freddie Mac in 2006 to influence federal law. According to relevant documents, which the Associated Press (AP) obtained, the company had used an influential lobby agency, the DCI Group , for which it worked. The target group were the key Republican US senators. The goal of the campaign was to reject a bill by US Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) that would have a major impact on the mortgage industry, including mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae .

In January 2006, Marin held in Helena ( Montana to an address where they are against) Hagel's Senate Bill 190 Claiming uttered that low-income people would make it difficult to become homeowners. In this regard, she said this to the giants in the mortgage industry:

"They will no longer be able to do what they have been doing."

Marin's office confirmed that her visits to Montana and Missouri at the time were related to her work for the DCI Group. US Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) spoke out against the bill, which failed at the end of the 109th congressional term, as did eight of the remaining 16 US Senators targeted who were the target of the campaign.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Marosi, Richard: Marin Draws a Contrast to Past GOP Candidates , Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2004
2. ^ ^{A b c d e} Friedman, Lisa: Ex-treasurer mulls running for Senate , Pasadena Star-News, May 26, 2003
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} LaBalle, Candace: Rosario Marin: US Treasurer - From Illiterate Immigrant to Honor Student , Contemporary Hispanic Biographies, Volume 2, 2003
4. ↑ Charles Dews and David Everett: Rosario Marin: filling the bill from advocate to treasurer: Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Prize winner, former mayor of Huntington Park, CA, former US Treasurer ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ,  Latino Leaders, December 1, 2003
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Skelton, George: Rosario Marin: a Republican to Put Democrats Off Balance , Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2004
6. ↑ ^{a b} The American Program Bureau, Rosario Marin, Former US Treasurer ( Memento of the original of July 7, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , APBSpeakers.com, July 26, 2009
7. ^ ^{A b} Fischer, Audrey: She's on the Money , The Library of Congress, November 2002
8. ↑ From An IQ of 27 To US Treasurer; 1 Person's Insights ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Credit Union Journal, September 9, 2002
9. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Marosi, Richard: Choice for Treasurer Was Minted in Mexico , Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2001
10. ↑ ^{a b c d e} LaBalle, Candace: Rosario Marin: Became Advocate For The Mentally Disabled , Hispanic Biographies, Volume 2, 2009
11. ^ ^{A b c} California State University-Los Angeles, US Treasurer Rosario Marin , Today, Winter 2002
12. ^ ^{A b c d e} Biography of Treasurer Rosario Marin, Associated Press, March 10, 2003
13. ^ Heaton, Brian: Rosario Marin Receives Lifetime Achievement Award at League of California Cities Annual Conference, Market Wire, Sept. 7, 2006
14. ↑ About the Mayor ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2002 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , The United States Conference of Mayors, US Mayor Newspaper, May 30, 2001
15. ^ Martin, Hugo: Task Force Is Sought to Help Combat Pollution , Los Angeles Times, Nov. 16, 1999
16. ^ ^{A b c} Marosi, Richard: Marin Joins GOP Field Hoping to Unseat Sen. Boxer , Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2003
17. ^ Pringle, Paul: Sheltered lives in California town may show whether enclaves help Latinos join mainstream or hinder them, The Dallas Morning News, Sept. 21, 1999
18. ↑ Sherman, Mark; US treasurer quits, to return to California ... , The Oakland Tribune, May 23, 2003
19. ^ ^{A b} Office of the Governor, Governor Schwarzenegger appoints Rosario Marin Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, Jan. 31, 2006
20. ↑ ^{a b} Rosario Marin sworn in as 41st US Treasurer ( Memento of the original from March 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accounting Today, September 3, 2001
21. ↑ ^{a b} LaBalle, Candace: Rosario Marin: Appointed US Treasurer , Hispanic Biographies, Volume 2, 2009
22. ↑ ^{a b c} Aversa, Jeannie: US Treasurer Rosario Marin to Resign , Associated Press, May 22, 2003
23. ^ California / Local, Move to US Treasurer's Post Opens Council Seat , Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2001
24. ↑ Partnership for Prosperity - US Department of State ( Memento of the original from January 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
25. ↑ US Treasurer May Seek Boxer's Senate Seat , Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2003
26. ↑ Marin, Rosario: Founding Chairwoman's Letter, NALL, November 2004
27. ^ ^{A b} Pasco, Jean O .: US Must Pressure Mexico, Marin Says , Los Angeles Times, February 6, 2004
28. ^ Latina could prove tough foe for boxers , San Francisco Chronicle, December 3, 2003
29. ^ ^{A b} Marinucci, Carla: Latina could prove tough foe for Boxer: Pro-choice, anti-tax Rosario Marin joins GOP Senate field , SFGate, December 3, 2003
30. ^ Fine, Howard: Can Marin Succeed in Knocking Off Sen. Boxer? , San Diego Business Journal, Feb. 16, 2004
31. ↑ Gledhill, Lynda: Republican Senate Primary: Marin's name is on the money , San Francisco Chronicle, February 29, 2009
32. ↑ Finnegan, Michael: State GOP Haunted by Ghost of Prop. 187 , Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2004
33. ^ Office of Strategic Information Services, Assembly Republican Caucus, CUS Senate Primary , California 2004, Executive Summary, Volume 4, No. 38, March 18, 2004
34. ↑ Public Affairs Office: Integrated Waste Management Board Welcomes New Appointees From Governor's Office , May 4, 2004
35. ↑ Public Affairs Office: Rosario Marin Elected to Lead State Integrated Waste Management Board , September 21, 2004
36. ↑ 2006 Annual Conference Review , Western City Magazine, November 29, 2006
37. ↑ Woodbury University to Honor Former US Treasurer at Commencement , PR Newswire, April 28, 2008
38. ↑ Kimball, Joe and Boyd, Cynthia: Hours before Palin's big speech, GOP women launch 'gender war' attack , MinnPost.com, Sep 3, 2008
39. ↑ California Sustainability Alliance: 2008 Sustainability Showcase Awards ( Memento of the original from June 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
40. ^ ^{A b} Rothfeld, Michael: Schwarzenegger cabinet member resigns after accepting speaking fees , Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2009
41. ↑ ^{a b c} Rothfeld, Michael: Ex-member of governor's Cabinet pays $ 5,400 in ethics fines , Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2009
42. ↑ ^{a b} Yost, Pete: AP IMPACT: Mortgage firm arranged stealth campaign ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Huffington Post, October 20, 2008
43. ↑ Byron, Eve: Former US Treasurer fears reforms go too far at Fannie, Freddie. ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , HighBeam Research, January 27, 2006

Web links

• Fuerza, Inc.
• Rosario Marin website