Federico Pena (Post / Jack Dempsey)
Federico Peña, Denver's mayor from 1983 to 1991 and a Clinton administration cabinet secretary, was named today as a national co-chair of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
Peña said that he would help Obama open doors among Latino groups and constituencies.
"It is key," Peña said of the Latino vote, citing states with a significant Latino population such as California, Texas, Colorado, Florida and New Jersey.
Peña said he has "a number of friends" running for president, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and U.S. Sens. Joe Biden, Christopher Dodd and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"I have been studying the positions of the candidates for some time now," said Peña. "I've concluded that the person who is best equipped with the skills to bring our country together is Barack Obama.
"Some people have said he's young and inexperienced," Peña, 60, said of the 46-year-old U.S. Senator from Illinois. "That was said of me when I ran for mayor in 1983. I believe people saw in me a young, energetic person. I see the very same thing in Barack Obama."
http://www.denverpost.com/crush/ci_6827863