Wanted: Government worker Job title: Deputy assistant secretary of commerce for textiles, apparel and consumer goods and chairman of the Committee on Implementation of Textiles Agreements ( CITA) Qualifications: The ideal candidate must know the difference between a nep and a nap; doesn’t mind bureaucratic inertia or waking up in hotel rooms wondering where in the world you are; takes criticism well; and lives by the motto, “ You can’t please all people all the time.” Starting date: Oct. 1  If this job sounds right to you, you’re probably cut out of the same mold as Jim Leonard, he of ice- water veins and a sunny disposition. Last week, Leonard announced his resignation from those posts, effective at the end of the month, in order to spend more time with his family. He insists the decision had absolutely nothing to do with the many earfuls of second guessing, bad- mouthing and nitpicking he’s received — some of it justifiable, he says — from industry leaders during his four- and- a- half year tenure in those positions. ( And we believe him.)
   Are you capable of taking the heat when you’re in the cauldron? Leonard does, as witnessed by the tongue- lashing he took from longtime friend and former industry colleague Jim Chesnutt on more than one occasion. Like this one, during a meeting of the American Yarn Spinners Association in 2003, after the U. S. signed a controversial textile trade agreement with Vietnam, which royally ticked off the domestic industry: “ How many of these deals — Morocco, Australia or even Singapore that’s been signed — have to go through Congress, or will it be another piece of trickery, like ( the) Vietnam ( bilateral trade agreement)?” asked Chesnutt, president and CEO of National Spinning Co., Washington, NC. “ Show us some honesty, Jim.”
   Leonard, a 35- year veteran of Burlington Industries, knew going in that he could take the heat required of this pressure- cooker position, and he performed his job admirably. Oftentimes, his role was that of middleman between the industry and the federal government, a glorified sounding board for a frustrated industry that had seen its foundation crumble in large part by trade agreements. They told him as much during several gatherings.
   Are you capable of remaining calm in a contentious situation and stating your case with confidence and conviction, as Leonard did during the recent Annual Meeting of the National Council of Textile Organizations ( NCTO). There, he heard from several irate industry executives during an impromptu Q& A that broke

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out during a luncheon. There acrimony centered around a CITA ruling on a short- supply case in the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act ( CBTPA), slow implementation of the Dominican Republic- Central America Free Trade Agreement ( DR- CAFTA), China safeguards and a bilateral agreement on Vietnam’s World Trade Organization accession terms. Among the most quarrelsome industry leaders was James Copland, chairman of the board of Copland Industries and Copland Fabrics, who initiated the discussion in order to hear Leonard’s explanation regarding CITA’s denial of a textile safeguard category that had since hurt his segment of the industry. “ Quite frankly, as a result, a lot of mills have been closed and thousands of people are out of a job. And what I would like to know, Mr. Leonard,  is why did you reject that? ... Why did you do this, with all the people who were involved that were losing their jobs and the plants were being closed?” Are you one to never shy away from engagement, even if you know what’s coming? Regardless the circumstances, Leonard never avoided members of a textile industry that’s so near and dear to his heart. Even amid the unsettled dust of certain decisions he knew weren’t popular among his former industry brethren, Leonard always showed up at their meetings, always returned phone calls, always put on a brave face. He was asked — and graciously participated — in a “ debate” with another old friend, Jock Nash, Washington counsel for Milliken & Co., during an American Association of Textile Chemists & Colorists ( AATCC) meeting. There, the acerbic, glib Nash offered up his take on the free trade debate, and managed to get in a few digs on Leonard. One being: “ Is there anyone here, or is it only me, who’s somehow offended when we are relegated to niches in our own domestic market?” Nash asked the audience, referring to earlier comments by Leonard regarding the industry’s changing paradigm.
   As Leonard’s tenure in Washington nears an end, the industry probably believes that they had an advocate in Jim Leonard. The industry, on the whole, is better off as a result of his service, as documented in our story on page 10. CITA’s imposition of China textile safeguards, which played a huge part in a comprehensive textile deal being struck between the U. S. and China last year, is his legacy issue — though he is quick to pass the credit to his staff, his government associates and the industry.
   So, if you’re ready to carry a calling card that reads, “ I’m from the government and I’m here to  hear  you,” you may be the right candidate for this job. Earplugs discouraged.