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Transition watch: Big shift may come to Arizona

December 2, 2008

The choice of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as homeland security chief by President-elect Barack Obama yesterday is a sweet political gift for the Republican who'll become governor of the state. Under Arizona state law, Napolitano's ascension will mean Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer will assume the reins there. Brewer, 64, is a veteran Republican officeholder, with more than two decades as a legislator, a Maricopa County supervisor and secretary of state. Brewer had a reputation as a fiscal hard-liner and conservative on social issues while a lawmaker in the 1980s and 1990s, so her taking over the governorship should mean a different approach than Napolitano's.



Obama took in $1.2 million for his presidential transition committee, with contributions from donors including UBS Americas chairman Robert Wolf and inaugural committee co-chairman William Daley. Wolf and Daley, a former commerce secretary, were among the 1,776 people giving to the transition, the committee announced yesterday. Obama raised $1.2 million through Nov. 15, the committee said. Wolf raised more than $500,000 for Obama's presidential run and Daley was a co-chairman of the campaign and sits on his transition advisory board. Both contributed $5,000, as did investors Alan Solomont and James Torrey.



The millions of donors who enabled Obama to shatter campaign fundraising records and build a nationwide network of supporters may also help him rewrite the rules for governing. Obama finished the presidential race with 13 million names and e-mail addresses. That gives him a grass-roots organization rivaling any competing interest group, a tool to pressure Congress that no other president has had. "It could be life-changing for American politics," said conservative activist Richard Viguerie, a pioneer in using direct mail for political causes. "It allows Obama to be independent of everybody."

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