Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso R. Jackson, who suddenly resigned yesterday effective April 18, is the subject of separate federal investigations into suspected cronyism involving his friends in multimillion-dollar HUD projects in New Orleans and Philadelphia.
The surprise announcement was immediately lauded by Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, who said being under a “cloud of various investigations” prevented Mr. Jackson from providing the necessary leadership to deal with the nation’s housing crisis.
“I hope this change in personnel will be matched by a change in policy that brings real solutions to the housing crisis that has triggered this economic recession,” Mr. Dodd said. “I stand ready to work with the president and his new HUD secretary to that end.”
Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Democrat and chairman of the Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies subcommittee, which oversees HUD’s budget, said it was “clear that the ethical allegations against him meant that the Bush administration’s ineffective housing policies were being burdened by an even more ineffective HUD secretary.”
“Today, Secretary Jackson has decided to move on, but the immense challenges ahead of us to calm the housing crisis remain,” she said. “President Bush must now nominate a housing secretary with the experience and credibility to attack this crisis, rather than hide from it.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said HUD will now be called on to work with members of Congress on assisting refinancing for borrowers faced with imminent foreclosure. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York said that while Mr. Jackson’s resignation was “appropriate, it does nothing to address the Bush administration’s wait-and-don’t-see posture to our nation’s housing crisis.”
A housing industry crisis has imperiled the nation’s credit markets and has led to a major economic slowdown, with home prices dropping at an unprecedented 23 percent annual rate over the past three months. The price declines are feeding the mortgage and housing crisis, leading to escalating foreclosures, burgeoning bank losses and a slide in consumer confidence and spending.
Mr. Jackson, a Texas native named to the post by President Bush in January 2004, made no mention of a grand-jury investigation or a separate FBI and Justice Department probe during his surprise announcement, saying only, “There comes a time when one must attend more diligently to personal and family matters. Now is such a time for me.”
Federal investigators, led by the FBI, HUD Inspector General Kenneth Donohue and prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, have been examining the ties between Mr. Jackson and a friend who was paid $392,000 by HUD as a construction manager in New Orleans — who reportedly got the job after Mr. Jackson told a staff member to pass his name on to the Housing Authority of New Orleans.
They also are investigating suspected favoritism in a HUD project in Philadelphia after officials in that city’s housing authority said Mr. Jackson retaliated against the agency after it refused to award a property worth $2 million to community developer Kenny Gamble for redevelopment of a public housing complex.
Mr. Bush accepted the resignation with regret, adding that he had known Mr. Jackson for many years “to be a strong leader and a good man.” He said he “always understood the value of hard work and equal opportunity for all Americans.”
“For more than three decades, he has worked to help more Americans become homeowners and strengthen communities throughout our nation,” Mr. Bush said.
Mr. Jackson formerly served as president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Dallas, later taking over as president of American Electric Power-Texas, a large utility company in Austin. He joined the Bush administration in Washington in June 2001 as HUD’s deputy secretary and chief operating officer, where he managed the day-to-day operations of the $32 billion agency.
ALPHONSO R. JACKSON
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Born: Sept. 9, 1945, in Marshall, Texas
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science, Truman State University; master’s degree in education administration, Truman State University; law degree, Washington University School of Law
Family: Wife Marcia; two children
Career highlights: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 2004-present; deputy secretary, Housing and Urban Development, 2001-2004; president, American Electric Power-Texas, 1996-2001; president and chief executive officer, Housing Authority, city of Dallas, 1989-1996; director, Department of Public and Assisted Housing, Washington, D.C., 1987-1989; executive director, St. Louis Housing Authority, 1981-1983; director of public safety, city of St. Louis, 1977-1981; a director of consultant services for the certified public accounting firm of Laventhol and Horwath-St. Louis; special assistant to the chancellor and assistant professor at the University of Missouri
Source: Associated Press
TROUBLED OFFICE
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso R. Jackson is not the first head of the agency to become embroiled in legal problems since the post was created during the Johnson administration in 1966.
Samuel Pierce — Reagan administration — 1981-89
An independent counsel investigated Mr. Pierce’s role in awarding millions of dollars in contracts to associates of top Republicans. Investigations found that HUD had engaged in political favoritism and trading of influence on behalf of political and personal friends of the secretary.
Mr. Pierce was never indicted, but two assistant secretaries — Philip Winn and Thomas Demery — pleaded guilty in connection with giving illegal gratuities and steering HUD subsidies to politically connected donors.
Henry Cisneros — Clinton administration — 1993-97
An independent counsel was created to investigate Mr. Cisneros for allegations that he had lied to FBI investigators during background checks before he was named secretary.
He was indicted on 18 counts of conspiracy, giving false statements and obstruction of justice. He negotiated a plea agreement, under which he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of lying to the FBI, and was fined $10,000. He avoided jail time and probation. President Clinton later pardoned him.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Please read our comment policy before commenting.