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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 20, 2001

President Bush to Nominate Barrales as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of OGA

The President today named Ruben Barrales as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

“My Administration is committed to working in close partnership with state and local governments.  I am pleased that a former local elected official, who brings such a strong background in the policy issues facing state and local governments, has agreed to head the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs,” the President said.

Mr. Barrales is currently President and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network in San Jose, California.   In 1992, he became the first Latino elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and was recognized for his leadership in reducing violent crime in East Palo Alto.  Mr. Barrales was also a leader in the creation of one of California's first public charter schools.

Mr. Barrales serves as a member of the Speaker's Commission on the California Initiative Process, and as an Advisor for the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.  He served as Vice-Chairman of the California Commission on Local Governance for the 21st Century, and as a member of the California Speaker's Commission on State and Local Government Finance.

The son of Mexican immigrants, Mr. Barrales is bilingual in Spanish and English. He is a resident of Redwood City, California, where he lives with his wife, Kelly, son, Ryan, and daughter, Rachel.