Big Shoes to Fill
One of California Gov.-elect Gray Davis’ key remaining appointments is the head of the Governor’s Office for California-Mexico Affairs.
The occupant will serve as the governor’s key representative in cross-border issues involving trade, transportation, the environment and education.
Outgoing appointee Rudy Fernandez, who has worked out of an office in San Diego since 1994, performed admirably under trying circumstances.
Gov. Pete Wilson’s 1994 campaign ads showing Mexicans scrambling over border fences, along with the governor’s stand in favor of controversial Prop. 187, offended many Mexicans and made Fernandez’s job of representing the state in bilateral issues a delicate one.
Fernandez was able to smooth over many Mexicans’ mistrust and helped arrange five trade missions to promote the San Diego-Tijuana area for business investment.
The biggest challenge for his successor, Fernandez says, will be to strengthen trade and to bring California’s Mexican exports closer to those of Texas, which shipped $25 billion worth of goods south of the border last year.
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Chris Kraul covers border and other Latin American trade issues and can be reached at (619) 544-6040 or chris.kraul@latimes.com.
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