Obama picks survey expert to lead Census Bureau

US-- Barack Obama is to nominate survey expert Robert Groves as director of the US Census Bureau in preparation for next year's census.

Groves was an associate director of the bureau during George Bush Senior's presidency, and is a former president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). He is currently director of the University of Michigan's survey research centre.

News of his nomination comes amid concern from Republicans over the Obama administration's planned handling of the census, after reports that the new director would report directly to the White House.

Judd Gregg, Obama's Republican nominee for secretary of the Department of Commerce – which oversees the Census Bureau – withdrew from nomination last month, citing “irresolvable conflicts” over the census among his reasons. Democrat Gary Locke has now been appointed to the post.

The administration has said that the bureau director would “work closely” with the White House, but that there would be no attempt to politicise the census.

If confirmed, Groves will take over from acting Census Bureau director Tom Mesenbourg, who stepped in earlier this year after the departure of Steven Murdock.

Author: Robert Bain

N.B. When originally published, this article was accompanied by a photo of the wrong Robert Groves. This has now been corrected. Apologies to all for the confusion.