LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Five months after Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination for ambassador to India was announced by President Joe Biden, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday considered the matter.
The meeting was adjourned without a vote, and the chairman of the committee asked further questions, which will be answered on Tuesday and Wednesday by Mr Garcetti and two other appointed ambassadors, who were pending.
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks as Los Angeles World Airports on December 9, 2021. (Brittany Murray / Long Beach Press-Telegram / Getty Images)
“Few nations are more crucial to the future of American security and prosperity than India,” Garcetti told the committee during his opening remarks.
Garcetti added that he first traveled to India with his parents as a teenager, then again in 1990 as a guest of Ambassador William Clark Jr., whose son was Garcetti’s roommate. He said the trip inspired him to study Hindi and Urdu in college, as well as Indian and cultural religious history.
“Today, the fundamental nature of this strategic partnership is firmly entrenched here in Washington and in New Delhi,” the mayor said. “If reaffirmed, I will strive to promote our ambitious bilateral partnership united by a free and open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
“Even with a pandemic, our bilateral trade is expected to break records this year, and if confirmed, I intend to pursue an ambitious economic partnership with India to reduce market barriers, to strengthen free trade and to create good middle-class US jobs,” he added. Garcetti.
Garcetti highlighted his experience in tackling climate change in Los Angeles, which includes putting the city on track to reach 100% renewable energy by 2035, and said he would work with India on an “equally courageous approach to promoting green energy.”
Biden announced Garcetti’s nomination on July 9th. Garcetti is entering his final year as mayor as he is unable to run again due to time constraints. He is scheduled to leave office in December 2022, unless he takes up the post of ambassador earlier.
The White House announcement in July of the nomination cited Garcetti’s responsibility to oversee the western hemisphere’s busiest container port, the Port of Los Angeles; the largest municipal utility in the country, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; one of the busiest airports, Los Angeles International Airport; and his time as chairman of the second busiest transit agency, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The White House also credited Garcetti for leading the city’s successful bid to host the 2028 Olympics and co-founder Climate Mayors, a coalition of 400 U.S. mayors that adopted the Paris Climate Agreement.
Garcetti also served as national co-chair of Biden’s presidential campaign.
Late. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, asked Garcetti about allegations of sexual harassment and a culture of secrecy in his office, which Garcetti claims he has not witnessed. His former adviser, Rick Jacobs, has been charged with sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles police officer.
The officer claims Garcetti witnessed the abuse, but turned a blind eye to it. Garcetti has denied the claim.
Garcetti responded to Shaheen, saying he has a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual harassment.
“I will say unequivocally that I have never witnessed, nor has it been made aware of, the conduct that has been alleged. And I also want to assure you that if that had been the case, I would have immediately taken steps to stop it, Garcetti said.
Naomi Seligman, a former communications director for Garcetti, who says she was forcibly kissed by Jacobs and that Garcetti knew about Jacobs’ alleged pattern of harassment, tweeted to Shaheen after the hearing:
“What about the victims and our sworn testimony of the atrocities we endured and which (Garcetti) witnessed and made possible? We are very disappointed. Human rights matter, here and around the world. # Me too.”
According to New York Magazine, Seligman’s lawyer sent a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee accusing Garcetti of a cover-up related to Jacob’s behavior.
Several senators asked Garcetti how he would work to promote human rights in India, noting a recent citizenship change that shortens the citizenship process for non-Muslim people from three neighboring countries. Garcetti highlighted his master’s degree in human rights and international law, saying that human rights would be a “core part” of his engagement with India.
If Garcetti is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Council President Nury Martinez will become acting mayor until an interim mayor is appointed by the council or a special election is held.
It is unlikely that the council is planning a special election, as the mayor’s primary election is already set for June 2022.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
.
Post a Comment