Obama Picks Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk as Trade Representative

President-elect Barack Obama Friday nominated former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk as U.S. Trade Representative to take on the complex, delicate task of juggling global negotiations. Mr. Kirk was the first Black mayor of Dallas serving from 1995 to 2001. Kirk accepted the nomination live on CNN, promising a progressive trade agenda that he said will balance the interests of robust trade as well as the interests of America's workers. He added that he will work to encourage the positives of trade while staying true to the American work force.

Ronald "Ron" Kirk was born June 27, 1954 in Austin, Texas. He first rose to political prominence in 1972 as an 18 year old volunteer for George McGovern's presidential campaign, where he was promoted to working directly for Ann Richards and Bill and Hillary Clinton in the Dallas area. He attended Austin College and the University of Texas School of Law. Upon his graduation in 1979, he practiced law until 1981 when he left to work in the office of then-Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen. In 1983, Kirk returned to Texas, first as an attorney with the city of Dallas, and later with a law firm. In 1994, he worked for then-Texas Governor Ann Richards as Secretary of State of Texas. The following year, he ran for mayor of Dallas winning 62 percent of the vote.

During his time as mayor, Kirk earned the reputation of being a coalition-builder. Under his leadership, he proposed the "Dallas Plan," a vision for the next 25 years. He also pushed the construction of the American Airlines Center, whose opening he oversaw in 2002. In 1999, he was re-elected as mayor of Dallas in a landslide with 74 percent of the vote. In 2001, Kirk resigned as mayor of Dallas in order to run for the vacant Senate seat. He lost to current Senator John Cornyn.

Comments from Dallas residents: Mayor Kirk is politically and intellectually savvy, conscientious and realistic - qualities all cabinet members will need to help deal with the economic turbulence the U.S. currently faces. Before he became mayor we lost several major projects to suburban cities like Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas Motor Speedway and were about to loose the NBA Mavericks and NHL Stars until his administration came in and saved it. The man has a multitude of credentials and will serve us well as a top administrator. Ron Kirk helped "BOOM" Dallas into what it is today. We are not experiencing the economic disaster on the same level as other cities.

Following his failed bid for Senate, Ron Kirk returned to practice law in Dallas. He is now a partner with the Houston-based law firm Vinson and Elkins, where he was, as of March 2007, one of the four highest paid lobbyists for Energy Future Holdings Corporation. If his nomination is confirmed, Kirk will be the first Black person to hold this cabinet-level position.