(Washington) A new effort is underway to convince President Obama to name  Fred Hochberg as Commerce Secretary. Boston-based Equal Rep pressed last month to have Hochberg named to the post.  Instead, the Obama administration nominated him to become Chair of the Export-Import Bank.

The job of Commerce Secretary remains unfilled. Obama’s first choice, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, withdrew amid disclosures that a grand jury was investigating the awarding of state contracts in New Mexico. His second choice, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) dropped out less than a week after being selected, citing “irresolvable conflicts” with the new administration.

Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke – the nation’s first Chinese American governor – is reportedly on the shortlist for the cabinet position, but Equal Rep says that Hochberg would be a better choice. 

If nominated and confirmed, Hochberg would be the first openly gay person to serve in a cabinet.

From 1998 through 2000, Hochberg served as deputy, then acting administrator, of the Small Business Administration, an agency elevated to cabinet rank by President Bill Clinton, with more than 4,000 employees and 100 offices across the country. 

At the SBA, he directed the delivery of a comprehensive set of financial and business development programs for entrepreneurs, with particular outreach to women and minorities. He also served on President Clinton’s Management Council.

From 1994 to 1998, Hochberg worked as founder and president of Heyday Company, a private investment firm managing real estate, stock market investments, and venture capital projects. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer of the Lillian Vernon Corporation, where he led the transformation of a small family mail order company into a publicly traded direct marketing corporation, one of the great success stories of American entrepreneurship.

Hochberg is a longtime friend of Sen. Hillary Clinton, and actively supported her presidential nomination. When Democrats nominated Obama Hochberg raised more than $100,000 for his presidential campaign.

“Considering Mr. Hochberg’s impressive list of qualifications which entails more than 25 years of experience in business and government, we believe he should be considered once again to serve our Country as Commerce Secretary,” said Paul Sousa, Equal Rep founder. 

“In addition to being extremely qualified, he also brings a lot of diversity to the table. Hochberg would be the 1st ever openly gay Cabinet member in United States history and would be the 1st Jewish member for this current Cabinet.”

Sousa said that Equal Rep is coordinating a national campaign asking participants to phone and email President Obama’s White House office daily to call for Hochberg to be named to Commerce.

Hochberg still is awaiting confirmation to the Export-Import Bank.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States, known as Ex-Im Bank, is the official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank’s mission is to assist in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets.

Ex-Im Bank enables U.S. companies — large and small — to turn export opportunities into real sales that help to maintain and create U.S. jobs and contribute to a stronger national economy.