Donovan Chosen as HUD Secretary: Reports Say Bronx Borough President to Head White House Office

Shaun Donovan, the current Commissioner of New York City’s Office of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), has been nominated to be the next secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HPD is the largest municipal developer of affordable housing in the nation. Since 1987, HPD has provided over $6.3 billion to support the repair, rehabilitation and new construction of hundreds of thousands of units of housing. HPD protects the existing housing stock and expands housing options for New Yorkers as it strives to improve the availability, affordability, and quality of housing in New York City. HPD has made a decisive shift away from City ownership of properties and has developed innovative community revitalization initiatives that promote private investment and productive public-private partnerships. HPD works with its governmental, community; non-profit and for-profit partners to strengthen neighborhoods increase the availability of well-maintained, affordable housing and enable more New Yorkers to become homeowners.

In his current position, Donovan is credited with helping to develop the city’s Acquisition Fund which combines public and private funds to encourage developers to include more affordable housing in their buildings. He went to HPD in 2004 after serving in HUD as part of the Clinton Administration where he was the Commissioner for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and headed the department’s multifamily office.

An architect, Donovan is expected to lead the efforts to restore some sanity to the current housing crisis. Obama is calling for a “bold plan that will dramatically increase the number of families who can stay in their homes. But this plan will only work with a comprehensive, coordinated federal effort to make it a reality,” he said in announcing Donovan’s appointment on You Tube.

One of Donovan's primary tasks will be to shore the FHA’s financial situation and seek to secure increased funding for HUD programs particularly public housing and the voucher programs.
Donovan is certainly highly regarded. He has been universally praised for his intellect, knowledge of issues and ability. As far as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is concerned, Donovan “walks on water” for his success in running HPD. Sheila Crowley, president of the Washington, DC-based National Low Income Housing Coalition, is quoted as saying Donovan “is a brilliant choice” and someone who is "highly regarded across the spectrum of those interested in affordable housing".

Donovan is 42 and has an undergraduate and graduate degree from Harvard University. He has also studied public administration at the Kennedy School of Government and architecture at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard.

Obama is also expected to appoint Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion as the director of a soon to be created White House Office of Urban Policy. This is according to various newspapers in New York City. Carrion was considered to be one of individuals under consideration for HUD secretary. If true, Carrion’s appointment would be a surprise to many in Washington who expected Bruce Katz, currently Vice President and Director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute. Katz, along with former HUD Secretary Henry Cisnero, wrote a paper which recommended the creation of this office. (See the December 8 posting). Carrion has an urban planning degree and worked for a period of time in the New York City planning department’s Bronx office. Carrion is also president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

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