Gutierrez endorses Clinton

Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

But Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign did just that this afternoon with an endorsement from two-term Montgomery County Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez.

Gutierrez, the first Latina ever elected to serve in the Maryland General Assembly, is a member of two demographics – women and Hispanics – that have become key to Clinton’s electoral success.

But Clintons have also been key to Gutierrez’s success: she was a political appointee in the first years of the Clinton Administration, serving as the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Deptartment of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration, where she directed the agency’s safety, regulatory, and research and development programs.

“I believe every single family in America should have access to quality affordable health care,” said Gutierrez. “Senator Clinton sees an America where we shouldn’t just provide health care for some people, or most people. She sees an America where we should provide every single man, woman and child with quality, affordable health care – leaving no one out.”

Born in Santa Ana, El Salvador, Gutierrez is a longtime political activist, serving on the Montgomery County Board of Education from 1990 to 1998. She narrowly won the 2002 Democratic nomination in District 18 over incumbent Del. Leon Billings by just 217 votes.

She also lays claim to being the first Salvadorian-American elected to public office in the history of the country.

“I am very grateful for the support that Ana Sol Gutierrez is giving me,” said Sen. Clinton. “I look forward to working together to bring the solutions that our country needs.”