On July 6th, President Obama nominated 10 individuals for key Administration posts. One of these individuals is Daniel R. Elliott III.
He has been nominated as Chaiman, Surface Transportation Board (source: whitehouse.gov). Elliott currently serves as Associate General Counsel of the United Transportation Union. A position he has held since 1993. Of major note is that the UTU made substatial political contributions during the 2008 election cycle. In total, its members dontated almost $1.4 million to state and federal campaigns. 92% of that went to Democratic campaigns (source: www.opensecrets.org) So by spending $1.3 Million, the UTU guaranteed proper representation on the Surface Transportation Board. So much for "Change We Can Believe In". It's politics as usual with cronyisim on the top of the list. I am almost sure that no one from Union Pacific will get a job on the board given their contributions in 2008 - $13.7 Million which is broken down to 23% Dem and 76% Rep (source: opensecrets.org)
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