Latina/o political appointees in the federal government: An examination of the characteristics, career paths and impact on executive decision-making of the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton appointees

Little is currently known about the political impact of Latina/o federal appointees who served from the Kennedy through the Clinton Administrations, including the paths they have taken to become appointees and their influence on policymaking in the Executive Branch. Using in-depth interviews and descriptive statistical analyses, I seek to begin filling this gap in our knowledge of Latina/Latino federal appointees. I interviewed fifty Latina/o appointees from the Cabinet level (Presidential Appointee with Senate Confirmation-PAS) to the Schedule C levels to learn about their backgrounds and policy success while serving in the Executive Branch.;Like the studies of traditional appointees (Stanley, Mann & Doig, 1967), start with the characteristics of Latina/o appointees using background and biographical data to provide descriptive detail on Latina/o appointees and to compare these minority appointees to what we know of traditional appointees. Latina/o appointees come from a less elite socioeconomic background compared to traditional Anglo appointees. The majority of Latina/o appointees are younger, from working class backgrounds, Catholic, grassroots activists in their communities and a larger percentage were educated at universities in the west and southwest.;Through in-depth interviews of appointees, I determine that most Latina/o appointees experienced political socialization that leads to a desire to initiate policy proposals that reflect the needs of the Latina/o community. Many of the interviewees or their immediate families experienced discrimination and limited opportunities. Thus, most felt an obligation to help the Latina/o community by focusing on Latino-specific aspects of issues such as education, immigration, presidential appointments, access to the policymaking process, workplace discrimination, healthcare, and housing.;Using archival research from presidential libraries I also discuss how the system received and perceived these appointees. Although a few appointees had "the President's ear," (O'Connor & Sabato, 2004) in earlier administrations, lack of experience and networks hindered Latina/o appointees from being present at the policymaking table where decisions are made. However, as appointees returned to work for subsequent administrations they had more experience and education to move into higher positions where they had greater influence on the President's policy initiatives. Unlike, the traditional appointee, they had an extra level of pressure placed on them because they were doing triple duty; learning about their positions, developing networks and representing their community.