By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-24-33.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.24.33) on Monday, December 08, 2003 - 9:52 am: Edit Post |
LA Times says Vasquez was rumored for post with Schwarzenegger administration but plans to stay at Peace Corps for now
LA Times says Vasquez was rumored for post with Schwarzenegger administration but plans to stay at Peace Corps for now
Vasquez to Stay at Peace Corps for Now
Just two months after announcing plans to step down as director of the Peace Corps and return to Southern California, former Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez has changed his mind, at least for now.
In October, Vasquez announced he was quitting the $295-million relief agency that he took over in February 2002, saying, "I decided it was a good time to come home to Orange County and my family."
Long active in Republican politics and an active supporter of Arnold Schwarzenegger for governor, Vasquez was rumored to be a prime candidate for a post with the new administration in Sacramento.
But his resignation date of Nov. 14 came and went without him vacating his office.
Eventually, Vasquez sent out an e-mail to employees and volunteers in which he said, "In light of pending initiatives and activities affecting the Peace Corps, I will be continuing my Peace Corps service to an indeterminate date."
Spokeswoman Barbara Daly said the initiatives that Vasquez cited include a proposal to increase funding for the Peace Corps, to involve the agency in the president's $15-billion AIDS assistance plan for Africa and to expand recruitment at community colleges.
With many of the key posts filled in the Schwarzenegger administration, one wonders whether perhaps Vasquez concluded that the job picture in California wasn't as rosy as he thought it was.
Daly said the decision was strictly based on Peace Corps issues, and she noted that Vasquez still plans to leave his post and return to California eventually. "He didn't rescind his resignation. He just delayed his departure," she said.