WASHINGTON — People like Rep. John Salazar, which is one of his best tools as a congressman.
He’s known to put his arm around people’s shoulders and pull them into a hug, signaling that everyone’s on the same team. He wears cowboy boots with his suit and projects an aura of humility.
Even lawmakers who disagree with his positions say the Manassa Democrat on the short list to be President- elect Barack Obama’s agriculture secretary is easy to work with. He’s approachable, doesn’t lose his cool and wants to bridge differences.
“He is willing to look at both sides of the issue in many cases,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican. “He’ll try to persuade people and would never browbeat people.”
Instead, he prefers the kill-them- with-kindness approach.
“He’ll come up to you, shake your hand and put his arm around your shoulder. It’s like ‘we’re in this together.’ He loves being in the center of people, even if they disagree with him,” said Tara Trujillo, a former Salazar press secretary who now works for Colorado Sen.-elect Mark Udall, a Democrat from Eldorado Springs.
Post a demanding one
Democrats and Republicans alike describe Salazar as jovial and humble, often making decisions more on instinct than detailed study.
When considering big votes, he’ll often invite his entire staff into the office, asking each one — down to the interns — how they’d vote before finally announcing his own decision.
While that can work well in a small congressional office, it’s unlikely to translate into running a department with about 88,000 permanent employees.
Strategists say that it may not matter that Salazar has little experience in managing a large organization, much less a massive bureaucracy.
“If they make John Salazar the Cabinet secretary, he’s going to have five Obama guys around him all the time helping him do the job,” said a Democratic strategist, who asked not to be identified in order to speak more freely. “His job would be the public face of agriculture.”
But a Cabinet job could demand more time in Washington, and Salazar isn’t a Washington guy. A lifelong farmer, he’s known for loving his San Luis Valley ranch where he spends weekend hours, much of them on his tractor.
It’s sacrosanct time he has sometimes prioritized over the nonstop demands of his job in Congress.
Salazar said he’ll consider the Department of Agriculture post if it’s offered. But whether he could shift into a bureaucratic role as a department head is a different question.
“John goes stir-crazy when he doesn’t have an opportunity to be on the farm as often as he would like, because he uses that opportunity, that alone time when he’s out on the tractor, as time to introspect and really think about the things coming up in Congress,” said Rick Palacio, a former Salazar aide.
Despite his desire to spend time on the ranch, Salazar is very dedicated to his job, said his chief of staff, Ron Carleton. His love of home, Carleton said, shouldn’t be misinterpreted.
“When he’s here in Washington, he’s very engaged. When he’s in the district traveling around, he’s very engaged,” Carleton said. “He’s also very grounded. He loves his wife, his ranch, and does like to be home when he can.”
Carleton would not say whether there had been any additional inquiries Thursday from Obama’s transition team. Salazar told The Post on Wednesday that he’d talked to the team but had not been formally interviewed.
Clean but short track record
Naming Salazar would mean bringing in a farmer with rural roots, a background that appeals to many fellow lawmakers and agricultural groups. His nomination would also send another Latino and Westerner to the Cabinet, following former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who has been nominated as secretary of commerce.
A third-term congressman, Salazar has little baggage that would tar his reputation. He’s been named the poorest member of the House in a listing by the Center for Responsive Politics, citing Salazar’s personal finance disclosures of about $5 million in debt due to a business loan. Lawyers and law firms, labor groups and agricultural interests top the list of contributors to his campaigns.
Salazar has had limited time for legislative accomplishments.
Achievements he has racked up include teaming with Republican Rep. Marilyn Musgrave of Fort Morgan in June 2007 to pass language in the House that blocked the Army from expanding its Piñon Canyon training site. He accomplished that despite Lamborn’s opposition.
“He was able to combine his efforts on the Democratic side with Musgrave’s efforts on the Republican side,” Lamborn said. “That made a strong combination.”
Salazar and Udall worked together to pass an amendment in a House energy bill blocking surface drilling on the Roan Plateau. It was later stripped, however, from a compromise version of the legislation.
Salazar also played an important role on the Agriculture Committee in crafting the farm bill passed this summer, several members of that committee said. Committee chair Collin Peterson said he worked tirelessly.
“He shows up all the time. He pays attention. He really cares about agriculture and rural America,” Peterson said. “He does his homework.”
