| 18/04/2008 | Maine's senators support nominee Peter Cianchette, tapped for ambassador to Costa Rica, has never been there
Jonathan E. Kaplan
Peter Cianchette of South Portland told a Senate panel considering his nomination to be ambassador to Costa Rica on Wednesday that he is up to the job, even though his Spanish is rusty and he has never traveled to Costa Rica.
Cianchette, the Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2002, said he has had a crash course in Spanish and Costa Rican politics since he was nominated earlier this year.
"I have engaged actively to boost my knowledge of the language and to regain ability that I had," Cianchette said, adding that he is taking a language course with the Foreign Service Institute in Rosalyn, Va.,
Cianchette told Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who speaks fluent Spanish, that he even consulted Dodd's brother, who served as ambassador to Costa Rica under President Clinton, and previous ambassadors.
As a non-career appointee, Cianchette would become one of 172 ambassadors representing the U.S. government abroad.
Bush has filled 31 percent of the posts with non-career, or political, appointees as of March 19. Career foreign service officers fill 53 percent of the total, while 16 percent are vacant, according to the U.S. State Department's Web site.
Those numbers are similar across Democratic and Republican administrations, said Bruce Brown, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for Senate affairs.
Cianchette lost his gubernatorial bid in 2002. He served in the Maine Legislature from 1996 to 2000 and chaired the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign in Maine in 2004. He now runs a public affairs and investment firm in Portland.
The Cianchette family has contributed to state and federal Republican elected officials. Last year, Cianchette and his wife, Carolyn, hosted First Lady Laura Bush at their home in South Portland to raise money for the Republican Party. About 100 people paid $250 each to attend the event.
It is traditional for a nominee's home state senator to introduce him before the committee vetting the nomination, and Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, lent their support.
Snowe welcomed Cianchette with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Collins and Cianchette greeted each other with a handshake. Cianchette then hugged Maine's junior senator. Snowe called Cianchette a "person of the highest caliber" and Collins reassured Dodd that Cianchette is working hard to improve his Spanish.
But Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., a member of the Western Hemisphere subcommittee, expressed his concern about Cianchette's Spanish language ability and his lack of experience in the region.
"There are a lot of skill sets involved here. Could you give me a sense of experiences that you have had, skill sets that will help you in this regard?" Menendez said.
Cianchette reiterated his experience working for a company based in Madrid, Spain, in the 1980s and he elaborated on his qualifications.
"I believe my extensive public service and business experience would help me strengthen our relationship with this important regional ally," he said in his opening statement.
Wedged between Panama and Nicaragua, Costa Rica is a vacation destination for thousands of Americans.
In Congress, Costa Rica was a focal point of negotiations and implementation of the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which Congress approved in 2005.
"If I am confirmed, I will work with the Costa Rican president and other stakeholders to make sure they understand that this is a last, best chance to join," the agreement, Cianchette said.
He said that after the trade pact was narrowly approved by Costa Ricans in a referendum last year, the government had moved quickly to begin implementing the accord.
The timing of Cianchette's confirmation is not clear. As early as next week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could meet in what is called a "business session" to decide whether to send the nomination to the full Senate.
Cianchette would be placed on what is called the Executive Calendar. When the Senate goes into an "executive session," normally at the end of the week, the upper chamber will consider his nomination and others.
If Senate Democratic leaders would ask their colleagues to confirm Cianchette and other nominees by "unanimous consent" -- without any objections -- the Senate likely would confirm the nominees by a voice vote.
If confirmed, Cianchette will attend a two-week "ambassador school," which all incoming ambassadors attend before departing for their host countries, said Brown.
Assuming the Senate confirms him, Bush will "attest" the nomination and Cianchette can prepare to leave for Costa Rica.
"He knows he does not have unlimited time down there as a political appointee," Brown said.
It is unclear how long Cianchette will serve after the November presidential election. He and all career- and politically appointed ambassadors will submit their resignations next year after a new president, regardless of party, is elected. The new president will decide whether he stays or goes.
Cianchette's wife, Carolyn, his two children and parents attended the hearing. Morning Sentinel (Estados Unidos)
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