[Infowarrior] - TSA nominee Erroll Southers withdraws

[Richard Forno]

TSA nominee Erroll Southers withdraws
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/01/tsa_nominee_erroll_southers_wi.html

Erroll Southers, President Obama's nominee to lead the Transportation  
Security Administration, has withdrawn his name from consideration, a  
Senate aide confirmed Wednesday.

Southers's nomination had faced fierce opposition from Republicans,  
especially since revelations that he may have misled Congress about an  
incident in the late 1980s involving a background check of the  
boyfriend of his ex-wife.

As The Eye was the first to report in November, Southers told the  
Senate that he asked a co-worker's husband who worked for the San  
Diego Police Department at the time to run a background check on his  
ex-wife's boyfriend.

The incident did little to stop his unanimous confirmation by the  
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. But a day  
after the panel referred his nomination to the Senate, Southers told  
lawmakers that he twice conducted the database searches himself,  
downloaded confidential law enforcement records about the boyfriend  
and then passed the information on to the police department employee.

“I was extremely excited about the opportunity to lead the  
Transportation Security Administration and fulfill Secretary  
Napolitano’s objective to develop it into the best organization of its  
kind in the world," Southers said in a statement released by the White  
House Wednesday morning. "However, it is apparent that this path has  
been obstructed by political ideology. I have decided, after deep  
reflection and in consultation with my family and friends to  
respectfully withdraw my name from consideration for confirmation as  
the assistant secretary for the TSA.

"It is clear that my nomination has become a lightning rod for those  
who have chosen to push a political agenda at the risk of the safety  
and security of the American people," Southers said. "This partisan  
climate is unacceptable and I refuse to allow myself to remain part of  
their dialogue. The TSA has important work to be done and I regret I  
will not be part of their success. I would like to thank the  
President, Secretary Napolitano and all of the people at the  
Department of Homeland Security who worked tirelessly to successfully  
move my nomination through two Senate committees during the past seven  
months.”

"The President believes that Erroll Southers would have been an  
excellent TSA Administrator but understands his personal decision and  
the choice he has made," said White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro.

"Southers was uniquely qualified for this job and it is with great  
sadness that the President accepted Southers' withdrawal. Fortunately  
the acting TSA Administrator is very able and we have a solid team of  
professionals at TSA doing vital national security work to keep us  
safe," Shapiro said.

Shapiro could not say when Obama might name a new TSA nominee or if  
the White House will just nominate Acting Administrator Gale Rossides  
to the job full-time.