Burke Is Considered for Clinton Cabinet Post

Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke has emerged as a candidate for secretary of housing and urban development as the jockeying continues for the final top-level posts in President Clinton’s second-term Cabinet.

Burke, a former congresswoman, is the fourth Californian being mentioned for spots in the administration, some of which could be filled today.

Burke confirmed Tuesday that she is under consideration for the HUD post, saying she got a phone call late last week from a high-ranking Clinton official who wanted her permission to put her name into contention.

She agreed, and said Tuesday: “My inclination is that it would be something I couldn’t turn down.”

Burke said she has not been offered the job or even interviewed for it. Still, people are already lobbying to be appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson to replace her on the board of supervisors “and I’m not dead yet,” she said.

If Burke is selected, said Board Chairman Zev Yaroslavsky, “it would be a real plus for the administration and the country and a real loss for the county and the board of supervisors. She’s a distinguished public servant who has certainly made her contribution on both the local and national level.” Although California was well-represented in senior administration posts during Clinton’s first term, the president has yet to appoint a single state resident to his reconfigured team.

One senior White House official was unaware Tuesday that Burke was under consideration. “I hadn’t heard it, but I like it,” the official said.

The next round of Cabinet nominations is not expected until later in the week. But administration officials are expected to unveil a new roster of high-level White House appointees today.

Those include Rahm Emanuel, a White House aide who gained Clinton’s confidence during the first term and is expected to help fill the vacuum created by the departure of George Stephanopoulos, a senior advisor to the president.

Sylvia Mathews, currently chief of staff for Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, and John Podesta, a former White House aide, both are expected to be named deputy chiefs of staff.

Bruce Reed, a White House aide who played a major role in Clinton’s welfare reform legislation, is in line to become chief advisor for domestic policy. James Steinberg, a top aide to Secretary of State Warren Christopher, is expected to become deputy national security advisor.

The speculation on who will fill the remaining administration posts has changed almost daily. The competition for HUD chief became particularly fluid when Seattle Mayor Norman Rice, viewed as the front-runner to replace Secretary Henry G. Cisneros, virtually fell out of contention. That happened when the White House learned about a complaint filed against him and other municipal officials involving a $24-million low-interest loan that the city received to help finance building renovations.

Sources say a new strong contender for the HUD job is Andrew Cuomo, the son of former New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. The younger Cuomo serves as HUD’s assistant secretary for community planning and development.

There also was speculation Tuesday that Rep. Esteban Torres (D-Los Angeles), who is being talked about for labor secretary, is being considered for the housing job. His office knew nothing of that possibility but would not dismiss it as Clinton prepares for his final round of appointments, probably this week.

The other Californians known to be on Clinton’s list of prospects are UC Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien for Department of Energy and former Berkeley professor Janet Yellen as head of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

Burke, 64, first achieved national prominence when, while serving as co-chair of the 1972 Democratic convention, she made an electrifying speech. She has racked up a lifetime of firsts: first black woman elected to the California Assembly (in 1966); first black woman elected from California to Congress (in 1972); first minority woman to head the five-member County Board of Supervisors, a position she held in 1994. She was elected to the board in 1992.

She is married to William Burke, the founder of the Los Angeles Marathon. Although he has won wide praise for the marathon’s success, in 1994 the event’s organization and one of its former top employees admitted laundering $73,000 in campaign contributions to local and state elected officials. Burke was not personally cited for money laundering, but admitted in the legal settlement that his organization concealed that it was the true source of the donations.

Times staff writer Josh Meyer contributed to this story.