Gil Kerlikowske

Gil Kerlikowske
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Incumbent
Assumed office March 7, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Thomas Winkowski (Acting)
Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy
In office May 7, 2009 – March 7, 2014
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Edward Jurith (Acting)
Succeeded by	Michael Botticelli
Personal details
Born	(1949-11-23) November 23, 1949 Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Anna Lazlo
Alma mater	University of South Florida, Tampa

Richard Gil Kerlikowske (born November 23, 1949) is the current Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He assumed office on March 6, 2014. He also served as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy between 2009 and 2014.

Kerlikowske graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa and the Executive Institute at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy. He has served as Chief of Police in four cities and worked in the United States Justice Department. His longest term as a Chief of Police was between July 2001 and March 2009 in Seattle, Washington. He faced scrutiny in Seattle for the department's tactics during civil unrest.

Early life and education

Kerlikowske was raised in Florida by his mother and stepfather.^[1]

Kerlikowske graduated from Fort Myers High School in 1968.^[2] He holds a B.A. and M.A. in criminal justice from the University of South Florida in Tampa. The school also gave him an honorary doctorate.^[3] He is a graduate of the National Executive Institute at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Career

Kerlikowske was drafted into the Army in 1970, and was stationed in Washington, D.C.. Part of his responsibility was saluting then-President Richard Nixon as he boarded the presidential helicopter^[1] and was awarded the Presidential Service Badge.^[3] He began his law enforcement career in 1972 as a police officer for the St. Petersburg Police in Florida. He served as Chief of Police in Fort Pierce, Florida and Port St. Lucie, Florida. He later served as police commissioner for Buffalo, New York for about a year and a half.

He served as a member of the United States Justice Department, where he oversaw community policing grants. His work in Washington D.C. earned praise from then-Attorney General Janet Reno and then-First Lady Hillary Clinton.^[4]

Seattle Police Department

Kerlikowske joined the Seattle Police Department in 2000. Mayor Paul Schell chose him as Seattle's new police chief in July 2001.

Kerlikowske oversaw the demonstrations marking the second anniversary of the controversial WTO conference in Seattle which had caused his predecessor, Norm Stamper, to resign. Although the event was peaceful throughout the day, 140 were arrested after police issued orders to disperse in the evening.^[5] Some of those arrested were prominent labor leaders attempting to move the event to the Labor Temple and others who were caught in the arrest zone while leaving work. Some charges were later dismissed. The police department was later criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union for the handling of protests against the Iraq War and previous demonstrations in a 2003 letter to the mayor and Kerlikowske.^[6]

Kerlikowske faced criticism over the department's slow response to the 2001 Seattle Mardi Gras Riots that left one man dead and 70 people with injuries. During the incident, he ordered the police at the scene not to intervene, instead maintaining a perimeter around the violence. The City of Seattle acknowledged police strategy presented a public safety threat, and settled with the murder victim's family for just under $2 million. The next month, The Seattle Police Officers' Guild voted no confidence in the chief, citing both the Mardi Gras riot and his public reprimand of an officer for being rude to a group of alleged jaywalkers.^[7]

In 2003, a ballot measure passed in Seattle that directs the police department to consider marijuana possession (for adult personal use) the City's lowest law enforcement priority. Kerlikowske opposed the ballot initiative, but said such arrests were already a low priority.

2003 was the first time in 15 years that Seattle did not have any shooting deaths involving officers. Kerlikowske said Tasers and other less-lethal tools were partly responsible.^[8] In September 2004, the local NAACP president asked to be Tased to better understand the complaints his organization had received. Kerlikowske joined him in a public demonstration in which they were both shocked at the same time.^[9][10]

In 2005, Kerlikowske faced embarrassment after having his duty handgun stolen from his locked car, which was parked on a public street.^[11]

In March 2007, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Minority Executive Directors Coalition called for his resignation. Seattle had just settled a lawsuit filed by a suspect who alleged that the police had used excessive force in a 2005 arrest. The department’s Office of Professional Accountability(OPA) recommended discipline for the three officers involved but action was not taken.^[12] The call for his resignation was also due to criticism of his alleged intervention in the internal investigation of two officers accused of violating the civil rights of a drug dealer during an arrest in January. The suspect claimed the officers roughed him up which was supported by video footage of the incident. The OPA Review Board accused him of taking extraordinary measures to protect the officers. The complaint was referred to the FBI, U.S. Attorney's district office, and Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for further investigation.^[13]

Director of the ONDCP

On February 11, 2009, it was reported that Kerlikowske had accepted an offer by President Barack Obama to become Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, succeeding John P. Walters.^[14] The Drug Policy Alliance issued a statement after the announcement of his nomination saying: "We're cautiously optimistic that Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske will support Obama's drug policy reform agenda".^[15] He assumed the office on May 7, 2009.^[16]

On May 13, 2009, Kerlikowske signaled that the Obama Administration would no longer use the term "War on Drugs", as it is counter-productive. The Obama Administration would instead demonstrate a favoring of treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce drug use.^[17]

In a May 22, 2009 interview on KUOW radio, he said any drug 'legalization' would be "waving the white flag" and that "legalization is off the charts when it comes to discussion, from my viewpoint" and that "legalization vocabulary doesn't exist for me and it was made clear that it doesn't exist in President Obama's vocabulary." Specifically about marijuana, he said, "It's a dangerous drug" and about the medical use of marijuana, he said, "we will wait for evidence on whether smoked marijuana has any medicinal benefits – those aren't in."^[18]

In October 2010 he said the federal government would sue the state of California if it legalized marijuana in Proposition 19.^[19]

On November 2, 2010, the state of California voted on Proposition 19, which entailed legalizing marijuana for personal uses, growing or cultivating it, as well as sale and taxation of it. The Proposition lost by 500,000 votes out of the near 7 million votes cast. "Californians recognized that legalizing marijuana will not make our citizens healthier, solve California's budget crisis or reduce drug related violence in Mexico," said Gil Kerlikowske.^[20]

In a December 9, 2010 interview with The Nation magazine, Kerlikowske called Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign one of the "major successes" of the War on Drugs.^[21][22]

On June 6, 2011, Kerlikowske published his report "Drug policies must be rooted in science," in response to a report calling for the decriminalization of illicit drugs by the Global Commission on Drug Policy. In the report, he denies the Commission's assertions that the War on Drugs is failing and costing billions of the taxpayers' dollars. The report claims that the economic impact of illicit drug use is $80 billion for health care and productivity.^[23]

Commissioner of CBP

On August 1, 2013, President Obama nominated him to serve as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. On March 6, 2014, the U.S. Senate confirmed as the first permanent commissioner for the agency that oversees both customs and immigration officers at the country’s ports of entry and the Border Patrol since before Obama took office in 2009.^[24]

See also

• List of U.S. executive branch czars

References

External links

• Gil Kerlikowske collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Gil Kerlikowske collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Interview with Gil Kerlikowske on PMAKid.com

Political offices
Preceded by Edward Jurith Acting	Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy 2009–2014	Succeeded by Michael Botticelli
Preceded by Thomas Winkowski Acting	Commissioner U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2014–present	Incumbent

Directors of National Drug Control Policy Bennett Martinez Brown McCaffrey Walters Kerlikowske Botticelli

Barack Obama's Executive Office of the President Office Name Term Office Name Term White House Chief of Staff White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Rahm Emanuel Pete Rouse William M. Daley Jack Lew Denis R. McDonough Mona Sutphen Nancy-Ann DeParle Rob Nabors 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan Jim Jones Thomas E. Donilon Susan Rice Thomas E. Donilon Denis McDonough Tony Blinken Avril Haines Douglas Lute† 2009–10 2010–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–13 2013–14 2015– 2009–13 White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Jim Messina Alyssa Mastromonaco Anita Decker Breckenridge 2009–11 2011–14 2014– Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security Ben Rhodes John O. Brennan Lisa Monaco 2009– 2009–13 2013– White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning Mark B. Childress Kristie Canegallo 2012–14 2014– Deputy National Security Advisor and NSC Chief of Staff Denis McDonough Brooke Anderson 2009–10 2011–12 Senior Advisor to the President David Axelrod David Plouffe Daniel Pfeiffer 2009–11 2011–13 2013–15 White House Communications Director Daniel Pfeiffer Jennifer Palmieri Jen Psaki 2009–13 2013–15 2015– Senior Advisor to the President Counselor to the President Pete Rouse Brian Deese Pete Rouse John Podesta 2009–10 2015– 2011–13 2014–15 Deputy White House Communications Director Jen Psaki Jennifer Palmieri Amy Brundage 2009–11 2011–14 2014– Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of Public Engagement Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Director, National Economic Council Valerie Jarrett Christina Tchen Jon Carson Paulette Aniskoff Cecilia Muñoz David Agnew Jerry Abramson Lawrence Summers Gene Sperling Jeffrey Zients 2009– 2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–10 2011–14 2014– White House Press Secretary Deputy Press Secretary Director of Special Projects Director of Speechwriting White House Counsel Robert Gibbs Jay Carney Josh Earnest Bill Burton Josh Earnest Eric Schultz Stephanie Cutter Jon Favreau Cody Keenan Greg Craig Robert Bauer Kathryn Ruemmler W. Neil Eggleston 2009–11 2011–13 2013– 2009–11 2011–13 2014– 2010–11 2009–13 2013– 2009–10 2010–11 2011–14 2014– Deputy Director, National Economic Council Deputy Director, National Economic Council Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Diana Farrell Brian Deese Jason Furman Paul Volcker 2009–11 2011–13 2009–13 2009–11 Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro Rob Nabors Miguel Rodriguez Katie Beirne Fallon 2009–11 2011–13 2013 2013– Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors Christina Romer Austan Goolsbee Jason Furman 2009–10 2010–13 2013– Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Lisa Konwinski Amy Rosenbaum 2009– 2014– Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Katharine Abraham 2011– Executive Clerk George T. Saunders† David Kalbaugh 2009–12 2012– Member of the Council of Economic Advisors Cecilia Rouse 2009– Director, Office of Political Affairs Patrick Gaspard David Simas 2009–11 2013– Director, Office of Management and Budget Peter R. Orszag Jack Lew Jeffrey Zients Sylvia Mathews Burwell Brian Deese Shaun Donovan 2009–10 2010–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014 2014– Chief Technology Officer Chief Information Officer Aneesh Chopra Todd Park Megan Smith Vivek Kundra Steven VanRoekel Tony Scott 2009–12 2012–14 2014– 2009–11 2011–14 2015– Chief Performance Officer and Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients 2009–13 Director, Office of Presidential Personnel Nancy Hogan Johnathan McBride 2010–14 2014– Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Liebman Heather Higginbottom Brian Deese 2010 2011–13 2013–15 Director of Scheduling and Advance Director, White House Military Office Alyssa Mastromonaco Danielle White Crutchfield George D. Mulligan, Jr. Emmett Beliveau 2009–11 2011– 2009–13 2013– United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk Michael Froman 2009–13 2013– Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu Broderick Johnson 2009–13 2013– Director, Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes Cecilia Muñoz 2009–12 2012– Deputy Cabinet Secretary Liz Sears Smith Rachana Bhowmik Michael Robertson 2009–11 2011–13 2013– Deputy Director, Domestic Policy Council Heather Higginbottom Mark Zuckerman 2009–11 2011– Staff Secretary Lisa Brown Rajesh De Douglas Kramer Joani Walsh 2009–11 2011–12 2012–13 2014– Director, Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois Melissa Rogers 2009–2013 2013– Assistant to the President for Management and Administration Bradley Kiley Katy Kale 2009–13 2013– Director, Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle 2009–11 Director, Oval Office Operations Micaela Fernandez Brian Mosteller 2009–12 2012– Deputy Director, Office of Health Reform Jeanne Lambrew 2009– Personal Aide to the President Reggie Love Marvin Nicholson 2009–11 2011– Director, Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy Carol Browner 2009–11 Personal Secretary to the President Katie Johnson Anita Decker Breckenridge Ferial Govashiri 2009–11 2011–14 2014– Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Heather Zichal Dan Utech 2009–2013 2013– Special Projects Coordinator and Confidential Assistant to the President Eugene Kang 2009–11 Director, Council on Environmental Quality Nancy Sutley Michael Boots 2009–2014 2014– Director, Office of National AIDS Policy Jeffrey Crowley Grant Cofax Douglas Brooks 2009–2011 2012–2014 2014– Chief of Staff to the First Lady   Jackie Norris Susan Sher Christina Tchen 2009 2009–10 2011– Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske Michael Botticelli 2009–14 2014– White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers Julianna Smoot Jeremy Bernard 2009–10 2010–11 2011– Director, Office of Urban Affairs Adolfo Carrión, Jr. Racquel Russell 2009–2010 2010– Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren 2009– *Senate-confirmation pending.   †Remained from previous administration(s).