Having trouble viewing this email?

Click here
Hi, just a reminder that you're receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in National Institute for
Latino Policy (NiLP). Don't forget to add afalcon@latinopolicy.org to your address book so we'll be sure to land in
your inbox!

You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our emails.






National Institute
for Latino Policy
(NiLP)
25 West 18th Street
New York, NY 10011
800-590-2516
info@latinopolicy.org
www.latinopolicy.org

Board of Directors
Jos R. Snchez
Chair
Edgar DeJesus
Secretary
Israel Colon
Treasurer
Maria Rivera
Development Chair
Hector Figueroa
Tanya K. Hernandez
Angelo Falcn
President

To make a donation,
Mail check or money
order to the above
address to the order of
"National Institute for
Latino Policy"

Follow us on
Twitter and
Angelo's Facebook
Page


Ready for Julian?
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
Politico (May 18, 2014)

Many Democrats already see Hillary Clinton's presidential candidacy as a
foregone conclusion.

Now some believe they've already got her running mate, too: San Antonio
Mayor Julin Castro, about to be President Barack Obama's nominee for
Housing and Urban Development Secretary.

Last week, Castro told the White House he would accept the offer for a national
role that supporters hope will groom him to the presumptive first Latino
running mate on a national ticket.

"Probably wasn't going to happen from the mayor's job," said Henry Cisneros, a
HUD secretary for Bill Clinton and a former mayor of San Antonio himself, as
well as a kindergarten classmate of Castro's mother who has stayed close with
the family over the years. "You have to have national positions of greater
responsibility, breadth - and this begins that course."

Cisneros said the move was crucial in preparing a bench of young Latinos for
the Democratic Party, which lacks big Latino political stars like Sens. Marco
Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

"Could he be on a Hillary ticket as a result of learning the breadth of the issues
and the nation?" Cisneros added. "The answer is yes."

Castro, who stepped into the national spotlight with a well-received keynote
address at the Democratic National Convention in 2012, is expected to continue
his ascendancy via a fast-moving process that people in the administration have
told people they're hoping to culminate in an announcement by the end of next
week.

The HUD position would be vacated by Shaun Donovan, who has told people
that Obama has asked him to become the new director of the Office of
Management and Budget, according to Democrats familiar with the
.

conversations.

In the Cabinet shuffle, the OMB position itself is coming open as Sylvia Mathews
Burwell appears headed for an unexpectedly easy confirmation to be the new
Health and Human Services secretary, replacing the retiring Kathleen Sebelius.

But while being at HUD would put Castro in the Cabinet and more on the
national stage, the role is not traditionally a very visible one - it's not as if most
Americans could name Donovan, or any of the past HUD secretaries. And the
role would do nothing to give the 39-year old mayor any kind of national
security or international experience, both of which are often part of
preparations for a presidential or vice presidential run.

The multiple confirmations set up by the switches reflect a confidence on the
part of the White House - strengthened after Republicans backed away from a
fight they'd promised over Burwell - that the president will be able to get his
choices through the Senate. Changed filibuster rules in the Senate had made
confirmations easier, but enough Democrats backed away from Obama's
choices for surgeon general and assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights
division that those nominations faltered.

And while Republicans could attempt to use the confirmation hearings as a
chance to bruise Castro ahead of future races, that would have to be balanced
against the prospect of attacking a high-profile Latino figure just months before
the midterms, when the GOP is already facing frustration over slow movement
on immigration reform.

The White House and HUD would not comment publicly on the Cabinet moves,
but people familiar with the situation said that Donovan and Castro slowly
began telling people the news in recent days, with Donovan indicating that he
expected to remain his position at HUD for up to a few more months. Vetting for
Castro is already well underway, according to people who've spoken with him.
Castro's office did not return a request for comment.

Donovan, who came to the Cabinet after serving as New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg's housing commissioner, was one of the few original Obama
Cabinet members still in place, leaving just Eric Holder at Justice, Tom Vilsack at
Agriculture, Arne Duncan at Education and Eric Shinseki - who's been facing
pressure to resign himself over the questions over medical administration on
his watch - at Veterans Affairs.
Donovan will shift to a position that will give him a much wider but less visible
role within the administration, and will take him away from the additional
responsibilities he's had coordinating the administration's continued clean-up
effort from Hurricane Sandy. The OMB director, for example, is much less likely
to be a presence at Democratic fundraisers, as he was last Tuesday at an event
for the DSCC where Obama praised him for having "done a terrific job" on
Sandy.

Donovan's move clears the way for Castro to assume what has in the past been
a very useful post for aspiring politicians to build up their stature - and their
travel, and their connections, and the grateful memories of local officials all
over the country - by arriving in town to announce new spending projects or
initiatives that bring in federal cash.

Andrew Cuomo turned his own run at HUD during Bill Clinton's second term
into his first campaign for governor of New York in 2002 (though he went on to
lose that primary). Mel Martinez went from being George W. Bush's HUD
secretary straight to a successful Florida Senate campaign in 2004.

Cisneros noted that he himself visited 200 cities in all 50 states during his run
in Bill Clinton's first Cabinet, but argued that between the rise of cities and the
importance of the housing market, the office is more important than ever now.

And that, he said, opens Castro up to a much more promising future than the
run for governor or Senate that some Texas Democrats had hoped was ahead.
The news surprised many in the state, including some who voiced skepticism
about the wisdom of Castro joining an administration already in its closing
years. But despite the changing demographics in the state and efforts like
Battleground Texas, Cisneros said the strength and rightward tilt of Republican
politics in his home state should still be a concern for an ambitious politician.

"You don't want to bank your political future on the politics of Texas right now
as a Democrat," Cisneros said.

Choco Gonzalez Meza, a longtime friend of the family and the former chair of
the San Antonio local Bexar County Democrats - and a former HUD official
herself - said that for all the focus on Julin Castro at the moment, no one
should forget about his twin brother, freshman Rep. Joaqun Castro, who's seen
as a rising star himself.

"Today he may be talked about by the White House as a potential nominee to be
the HUD secretary, but he could be our vice president, he could be our
president," she said. "And so could Joaqun."


Forward this email


This email was sent to mvillanueva@stcloudstate.edu by info@latinopolicy.org |
Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe | Privacy Policy.
National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP) | 25 West 18th Street | New York | NY | 10011-1991