By Admin1 (admin) on Thursday, August 23, 2001 - 4:22 am: Edit Post |
Critics call the Vasquez nomination "window dressing" and say that the
Republican lacks the expertise in either volunteer work or international
affairs to manage an agency with an annual budget of $275 million and a
workforce that includes 7,000 volunteers in nearly 80 countries. The Peace
Corps, they say, would be better off in the hands of someone promoted
from within.
That Mr. Vasquez lacks experience may be true, but it was no less true of
the others who have previously held the post for which he is now
considered. Of the 15 directors since the Peace Corps was founded by
President John F. Kennedy in 1961, most came from outside the agency,
and many of them – like Mr. Vasquez – had little or no previous
experience with volunteering.
Undeterred, the detractors also insist that Mr. Vasquez has not yet
emerged from the financial cloud that forced him and the other Orange
County supervisors from office six years ago. Bad investments approved
by board members produced a $1.7 billion budget shortfall, prompting the
once wealthiest county in California to declare bankruptcy. Recall petitions
led to resignations, Mr. Vasquez included.
Read the full story here:
Peace Corps choice broke all three commandments