Pete Buttigieg picks gay Navajo man Arlando Teller as assistant secretary

Words: Jamie Tabberer; pictures: wiki

Pete Buttigieg has selected gay Navajo man Arlando Teller as one of his assistant secretaries.

Former Mayor of South Bend Buttigieg was US President Joe Biden’s pick for the United States Secretary of Transportation, and assumed the role on 3 February 2021.

Democrat Teller was previously an Arizona state representative, and has served as deputy director of the Navajo Department of Transportation. His new role will be as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Tribal Affairs.

“Representation matters”

Responding to news of his appointment last week, Teller told the Los Angeles Blade: “Elevating indigenous nations’ by the Biden administration only invigorates and encourages me to do more.

“Representation matters.”

Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez said in a statement: “Words cannot express how proud we are of these two young Navajo professionals [Wahleah Johns was also recently appointed director of the Office of Indian Energy in the US Department of Energy], who have dedicated themselves to serving our Navajo people and are now moving onto the federal level to help empower all tribal nations.

“In my conversations with the Biden-Harris Administration, I’ve advocated for the appointment of our Navajo people to high-level positions to help advance the issues of all tribes at the federal level.

“First Lady Phefelia Nez and I congratulate them and their families and we look forward to working with each of them on transportation infrastructure and energy development.”

Buttigieg was last month named Attitude’s Person of the Year.

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