Oregon Public Broadcasting

Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has been nominated as the nation's drug czar.

At a White House ceremony Wednesday, Kerlikowske acknowledged it’s a complex job. But he praised the Obama administration for already strengthening its commitment to critical programs.

Gil Kerlikowske: “Such as drug courts, better treatment, prisoner and re-entry systems, border security and counter-narcotics initiatives both nationally and internationally. This is a real commitment to strengthening the tools we have to reduce trafficking, illegal drug manufacturing and drug related crime and violence.”

Kerlikowske says success depends on the ability to reduce demand for drugs.  

During the ceremony, Vice President Joe Biden said one focus will be the increasingly violent Mexican drug wars.

Kerlikowske has worked in law enforcement for 36 years. He’s been Seattle's top cop for nearly nine years. He's been credited with cutting Seattle’s crime rates to record lows.

On a personal note, the police chief also mentioned struggles in his own family with drug abuse.

Gil Kerlikowske: “Our nation’s drug problem is one of human suffering, and as a police officer, but also in my own family, I have experienced the effects that drugs can have on our youth, our families, and our communities.”

His stepson, Jeffrey, has an arrest record on drug charges.

Kerlikowske previously worked in a Justice Department program promoting community policing.  His nomination to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy still needs Senate confirmation.