The Bush administration yesterday said it is tapping Al Frink, the founder of a California-based carpet maker, to become its new manufacturing czar.
Mr. Frink is the administration’s second try to fill the post. The first candidate withdrew his name after he was criticized for opening manufacturing operations in China.
Manufacturers have shed 2.7 million jobs since Mr. Bush became president in January 2001; the jobs report for March showed the country adding 308,000 new jobs but manufacturers only holding even.
U.S. firms blame unfair international competition, especially from China, and also domestic problems like costs from lawsuits, health care and rising energy prices. The manufacturing czar, officially assistant commerce secretary for manufacturing, will act as an administration point man for manufacturing and help coordinate efforts to promote open markets, lower manufacturing costs, and strengthen education and training.
Mr. Bush, facing criticism about job losses, last Labor Day said he would appoint the manufacturing czar “to make sure our manufacturing job base is strong and vibrant.”
“President Bush understands that manufacturers are the engine that creates jobs, grows our economy and raises our standard of living,” Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans said in announcing Mr. Frink’s pending appointment.
Democrats have seized on the job numbers and the eight-month gap since Mr. Bush said he would appoint a manufacturing czar, saying the president has mishandled the economy. A spokesman for Sen. John Kerry, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said the appointment is too little, too late.
“Let’s hope [Mr. Frink] can be part of the solution and not exacerbate the problems that the manufacturing sector has endured since this president came into office,” said Phil Singer, a spokesman for Mr. Kerry.
Mr. Kerry’s campaign was especially critical of Mr. Bush’s first candidate for the post, Anthony Raimondo. Mr. Raimondo’s firm, Nebraska-based Behlen Manufacturing, in 2002 announced it would establish a plant in China — a hot-button issue as more companies send business, and jobs, to the Asian nation.
Mr. Raimondo said the overseas operation fed the Chinese market and actually helped sustain U.S. jobs, but then quickly withdrew his name from consideration.
Mr. Frink, 61, is executive director of Fabrica International, an Orange County, Calif., manufacturer of carpets and rugs. The firm in 2000 was acquired by the Dixie Group, headquartered in Chattanooga, Tenn., with carpet and rug manufacturing operations in Alabama and California.
Mr. Frink is a relatively small donor to Republican political causes, including $2,000 last year to Rosario Marin, a Republican candidate for Senate, and $250 to the Republican Central Committee of Orange County, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He is not listed as a major fund-raiser on Mr. Bush’s campaign Web site.
Mr. Frink’s nomination was welcomed by manufacturers.
“He will be an excellent advocate for U.S. manufacturing,” said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers.
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