Who’s the USDA Choice?

By Al Kamen, The Washington Post
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 3:34 PM CST

WASHINGTON - Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Monday that he is not a candidate for agriculture secretary, telling the Des Moines Register that he had never been contacted by aides to President-elect Barack Obama about an administration position.

Vilsack, a Democrat who abandoned his own bid for the White House in 2007 and endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries, later campaigned for Obama in Midwestern battleground states. He has deep contacts in the farming community and published editorials this fall about agriculture and renewable-energy policy, leading many to believe he was a top contender to run the Agriculture Department.

But Vilsack wrote in an e-mail Sunday to the Register that he is not a candidate for the position. So scratch that one.

Other contenders are said to be Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee; Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union; and John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, is supporting Boyd’s candidacy. “As a fourth-generation farmer, John Boyd understands the lending, energy, outreach, economical and technical assistance concerns of America’s agricultural industry,” Towns said.

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