Bush to present Mineta with Medal of Freedom

By Jason Bennert, Bay City News Service

December12, 2006

SAN JOSE (BCN) - Norman Mineta, who began his career as a San Jose city councilman and later served as mayor, congressman and U.S. Secretarys of Commerce and Transportation, will receive the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, this week.

Mineta served as mayor of San Jose from 1970-74 before being elected to Congress representing San Jose and western Santa Clara County. He remained in Congress until 1995. He worked in the private sector in Washington D.C. until 2000 when President Bill Clinton appointed him Secretary of Commerce.

Mineta became the only Democrat in President George W. Bush's cabinet when Bush appointed him Secretary of Transportation in 2001.

Mineta played a crucial role in the federal government's response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 when he ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to ground all civilian aircraft that morning following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

"We're lucky to be sharing a moment in time with a person who will have a whole chapter in history,'' Mineta Transportation Institute Executive Director Rod Diridon said.

The Mineta Transportation Institute was created by Congress in 1991 and is affiliated with San Jose State University.

During his years in Congress, Mineta had a profound impact on public transportation in the South Bay, according to Diridon.

"We would not have our airport. We would not have a significant portion of our transit programs without him,'' Diridon said.

In November 2001, the San Jose City Council voted to rename the city's airport the Mineta San Jose International Airport in Mineta's honor.

Bush will present Mineta, and nine others including blues legend B.B. King, with the Medal of Freedom on Friday at a White House ceremony.

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