a potential Romney cabinet. Obama names Fortuño to Council of Governors President Barack Obama nominated Governor Fortuño to the Council of Governors, a bipartisan commission aimed at improving coordination of efforts between state and federal agencies to address matters of defense and national security. Elected to leadership of the Council of State Governments On 22 May 2010, Governor Fortuño was elected vice president of the Council of State Governments (CSG), the first Puerto Rican to hold a leadership position in that intergovernmental organization since his now–secretary of state, Kenneth McClintock, served as chairman in 1999. CSG represents the three branches of government of the 55 states and territories of the nation. Several Canadian provinces are international members of the organization, as well. On 22 October 2011 he was chosen president of CSG for 2012. Center for Best Practices of the National Governors Association Between 2010 and 2012, Fortuño served on the board of directors of the Center for Best Practices of the National Governors Association. Chairman of the Southern Governors' Association On 21 August 2011, Governor Fortuño assumed the chairmanship of the Southern Governors' Association and unveiled his new initiative, which served as the organization's policy focus for the year, to create jobs and spur economies in the Southern region by increasing trade, investment and exports with Latin America. The initiative, titled "Growth Beyond Our Borders," focused on creating jobs and increasing exports from Southern states and territories by the end of 2012 by enabling private sector businesses and entrepreneurs to tap into dynamic and emerging Latin American markets, which represent 550 million prospective clients. The association's membership is composed of the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia. Commemoration of Quincentenary of the Governorship of Puerto Rico In 2010, Fortuño created a Commission for the Celebration of the Quincentenary of the Governorship of Puerto Rico, a celebration that began on 12 October 2010 and will extend to 19 November 2011. As part of the celebration, at the tail-end of a Trade Mission to Spain, he led a celebration of the life of Puerto Rico's first governor Juan Ponce de León in Santervás de Campos, near Valladolid on 21 January 2011. He also spoke that day at the Universidad de Valladolid. Constitutional amendments On 19 August 2012, voters rejected two