Indian-American appointed co-chair of Clinton Transition

Project From Lalit K Jha Washington, Aug 16 (PTI) An Indian-American has beenappointed as one of the four co-chairs to the Clintoncampaign’s Transition Project, which would oversee "smoothtransition of power" to new President if Hillary Clinton, theDemocratic presidential candidate, wins the November election. The Clinton-Kaine Transition Project, headed by the formerInterior Secretary Ken Salazar, has been tasked to ensure"smooth transition of power" including identifying key seniorposition in the new administration if Clinton and her runningmate Tim Kaine win the November 8 general elections, a mediarelease by Clinton campaign said. Salazar will serve alongside four co-chairs — Indian-American president of the Center for American Progress NeeraTanden, former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, formerMichigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and Maggie Williams,Director of the Institute of Politics, Harvard University. Tanden, 46, is a long-time associate of Clinton and hasworked with her during her senatorial campaign in New York.She served as Clinton’s policy director for her bid for thepresidency in 2008. Tanden later served as policy director forDemocrat nominee Barack Obama. Based in Washington, the project is dedicated to preparingfor a potential Clinton-Kaine administration, enabling theBrooklyn-based campaign organisation to stay exclusivelyfocused on the task of electing Clinton as the nation’s 45thPresident, it said. "We are extremely pleased that such an accomplished groupof public servants has agreed to lead the transition planningfor a potential Clinton-Kaine administration," said JohnPodesta – the Chair of Hillary for America and the Presidentof the Transition project. "While our campaign remains focused on the task at hand ofwinning in November, Clinton wants to be able to get to workright away as President-elect on building an economy thatworks for everyone, not just those at the top," he said. "These individuals, who bring a deep level of experiencein the work of presidential transitions, will help us build ateam that is ready to govern after the general election,"Podesta said. "Once Clinton makes history by being elected as thenation’s first woman President, we want to have a turnkeyoperation in place so she can hit the ground running rightaway," Salazar said. "This transition team will undertake the preparationsnecessary to ensure our next President has the resources andstaff to carry out this all-important work," he said. The Clinton-Kaine Transition Project was officiallyestablished through the filing of paperwork two weeks ago withPodesta named as the entity’s president and Hillary forAmerica senior adviser Minyon Moore as Secretary. A 2010 law, known as the Pre-Election Transition Act,formalised the process for the transfer of powers from oneadministration to the next, and provided new resources to bothparty nominees so they each could take steps ahead of thegeneral election to ensure a seamless transition. PTI LKJ SUAAKJSUA