Gene Sperling’s return to the White House serves as a reminder of Ann Arbor’s influence in Washington.

Here are AnnArbor.com Business Review’s Top 5 people with Ann Arbor connections who are in a position to influence President Barack Obama:

1. Sperling. The Ann Arbor native and Community High School graduate, whose parents still live in Ann Arbor, will lead Obama’s National Economic Council, a post he also held in the administration of former President Bill Clinton. He will be considered the president’s top economic adviser.

2. Valerie Jarrett. The 1981 U-M law school graduate is a senior advisor and assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs and public engagement. National media have described Jarrett as one of the president’s best friends.

3. Ken Salazar. Also a 1981 U-M law school grad, Salazar is Obama’s Interior Department Secretary. The Interior Department manages one-fifth of the country’s land.

4. Bob King. The 1968 U-M grad is one of the nation’s most powerful labor activists as president of the United Auto Workers union.

5. Eugene Kang. The 2002 graduate of Ann Arbor’s Greenhills School and 2006 University of Michigan graduate is a special assistant to Obama. He can be seen close to the president’s side and has golfed with the president. U-M acknowledged that it lobbied Kang and Jarrett to convince Obama to deliver the 2010 spring commencement address at the university.

Honorable mention: Google co-founder, U-M grad and Obama supporter Larry Page; U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, co-chair the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship; U-M law school grad and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.