Secretary of State
When Jan Brewer ascended from Arizona Secretary of State to Governor upon Janet Napolitano's resignation to become United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Brewer chose Bennett to be the new Secretary of State. Normally, the Secretary of State is first in line to succeed the Governor should she have resigned, become removed from office, or become permanently disabled from being able to discharge her duties. However, as Bennett was not elected as Secretary of State, then-Attorney General Terry Goddard would have become first in line to succeed Brewer. Bennett was sworn in as Secretary of State on January 26.
In May 2012, Bennett indicated he might attempt to remove President Barack Obama from the 2012 Presidential election ballot. Although Hawaiian officials have repeatedly confirmed Obama's birth in Hawaii, Bennett sought to have Hawaiian officials write to him personally. Bennett stated he had not made a similar request regarding any other Presidential candidate. Bennett denied being a "Birther", stating that he believes Obama was indeed born in Hawaii. Bennett also changed his position regarding the impartial role of the Secretary of State when he agreed to co-chair the presidential bid by Republican Mitt Romney. Bennett acknowledged that is a change in his personal policy. In October 2012, Bennett contributed as a guest columnist to the Sonoran Alliance website which markets itself as offering a 'blatantly conservative worldview'. In the column, Bennett appeals to the conservative readership to make their vote count.
Read more about this topic: Ken Bennett, Biography
Famous quotes related to secretary of state:
“The truth is, the whole administration under Roosevelt was demoralized by the system of dealing directly with subordinates. It was obviated in the State Department and the War Department under [Secretary of State Elihu] Root and me [Taft was the Secretary of War], because we simply ignored the interference and went on as we chose.... The subordinates gained nothing by his assumption of authority, but it was not so in the other departments.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)