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WASHINGTON - Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a centrist Democrat who has pursued stronger economic ties with Canada, emerged Thursday as a leading contender to become president-elect Barack Obama's first secretary of Homeland Security.
The potential selection of Napolitano, 50, to head the massive agency places issues of illegal immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border near the top of Obama's security agenda.
But the idea that Napolitano might take over at the agency was also being welcomed by Canadian businesses and government. Since her election as Arizona governor in 2002, she has taken a keen interest in strengthening her state's ties with Canada, joining western premiers and governors in a climate change pact and promoting a trade corridor running from Western Canada south to Mexico.(emphasize added)