Female governor set for key post in Obama team

A FEMALE state governor with a reputation for being tough on illegal immigration - and Republicans - has emerged as frontrunner for the key job of US Homeland Security Secretary as president-elect Barack Obama continues to shape his cabinet.

Janet Napolitano, the governor of Arizona and an early Obama supporter, would be the first woman to have held the position, which would make her the second most powerful woman in the president-elect's administration after Hillary Clinton - if she accepts the post of Secretary of State. "She's in the mix. She may be the front-runner," a senior Democrat said today.

Ms Napolitano would take charge of a sprawling agency formed to bolster civil defence in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, and is thought unlikely to refuse such a tempting offer.

Washington sources said Ms Napolitano, 50, has not been formally offered the post, but was top of a shortlist compiled by Mr Obama's transition team. In the two weeks since his election victory Obama has been assembling his cabinet to take over from George Bush.

He has selected Washington lawyer Eric Holder as attorney general and former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services Secretary.

But his plan to appoint Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker as Secretary of Commerce collapsed.

Ms Pritzker, who was his campaign finance chairwoman and is credited with helping Obama break all political fundraising records, said she was not interested in the post.

In his choice for homeland security, Mr Obama is known to be looking for someone with a tough reputation - and he will find that in Napolitano, who is no stranger to Washington controversy.

As a lawyer in Phoenix in 1991, Ms Napolitano was part of the legal team representing Anita Hill, a former colleague of Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, whom Ms Hill had accused of sexual harassment.

Her work on that case postponed Ms Napolitano's own Senate confirmation as US attorney, but did not derail Thomas's confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice.

Her spokesman, Jeanine L'Ecuyer, would not comment on today's reports. "She's not looking for another job, and the president-elect will announce his cabinet selection when he's ready to do that," Ms L'Ecuyer said.

As governor, Ms Napolitano has fought to curb illegal immigration.