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Call him what you will.
Call him the HUD Secretary.
Call him the future of the Democratic Party.
Call him a determined man with a vision for making America a better country for the next generation.
Whatever you call him, Julián Castro is a man impressively comfortable in his own skin with a disarming conversational quality, equally at ease whether discussing national housing policy or how he enjoys spending time with his family.
In many ways, he comes across as a “regular guy” despite the lofty cabinet-level position he holds in the Obama Administration. He beamed when he recounted the joy of playing with his 6-year-old daughter, Carina, and 1-year-old son, Cristian, and watching television with his wife, Erica. “We probably have like 500 channels,” he admitted while declaring his affinity for old movies. He said he still tries to get exercise by playing basketball when he can, and that eventually he wants to get back into collecting sports cards when he gets a little more time in his life. You know… regular guy stuff.
In our time together, the charm, charisma, and passion that Castro undeniably possesses permeated his every word as he discussed what he believes to be his life’s work—the work of ensuring that America remains the land of opportunity for everyone.
As we sat together in a makeshift green room after a speaking engagement, Castro's confidence never wavered while he discussed the uphill battles that housing in America faces: not only is the homeownership rate at its lowest level in decades, but many millennials—the demographic that has repeatedly been cited as critical to the health of housing—are delaying the purchase of a home for a variety of reasons, namely the inability to save for a down payment. He is focused with an eye single to the goal of improving America by improving the lot of Americans through housing.
“There’s no question that this younger generation has waited a little bit longer to buy a home, but I’m confident that the American Dream remains of owning your own piece of the world and being able to build a life in your home and to pass that on to your children and then your grandchildren,” Castro said. “There have been so many changes in our country and in our lives as human beings over the last hundred years, but that idea of having a place to settle down to plant your roots and to leave to your kids, that still remains.”
Texas Roots
A better life for future generations was the dream of Castro’s grandmother, an immigrant from Mexico who was orphaned at age six. Despite having only a fourth grade education, she taught herself to read and to write in both English and Spanish by the time Castro and his twin brother, Joaquin, were born. In a story Castro loves to recount, his grandmother won $300 for first prize in a menudo contest the day before the twins were born—and used the money to pay the hospital bill.
The Castro twins were raised by a single mother, Rosie, a political activist who fought for the civil rights of Mexican-Americans as a leader of the La Raza Unida movement in the 1970s. Castro has stated that his mother's work as an activist was what inspired him and his brother to pursue careers in public service.
On the surface, Castro grew up a “regular” kid in San Antonio in the 1980s and early 1990s. He and his twin brother Joaquin both enjoyed playing sports. Julián played football and basketball, and both he and Joaquin were stars on their high school tennis team.
Despite his “regular” outward appearance, however, it was clear early on that Julián possessed a unique drive for personal excellence. The competitiveness that propelled them to win in high school athletics carried over into education for both of the Castro brothers. Wanting to accelerate their high school education and get to college as fast as possible, both of them skipped their sophomore year and graduated at age 17. From there, together they went on to receive undergraduate degrees from Stanford University and Juris Doctorate degrees from Harvard. They later started their own law firm together in 2005.
All the while, Julián was forging his own meteoric rise up the political ladder, beginning with his election to the San Antonio city council at age 26 in 2001—the youngest city council member in the city’s history (his mother once ran unsuccessfully for the San Antonio City Council in the early 1970s). In 2005, he ran for mayor of San Antonio but was unsuccessful. Undeterred, he ran for mayor again in 2009 and won.
“I first got interested in public service because I felt very, very blessed in my own life with opportunity, and getting involved in public service was this compromise with myself to try and do something to help other people,” Castro said. “I don’t believe that helping people is a dirty word. I believe that if government is used right and understands its limits and also its possibilities, that you can make a real difference in public services. What drives me is ‘What can we do to spark more opportunity in people’s lives, given the limited role that we play in their lives?’”
Community revitalization has always been at the heart of Castro’s work. A year into his term as mayor, he launched SA2020, a non-profit aimed at revitalizing San Antonio through civic engagement and community collaboration. SA2020’s goal is to provide quality education and economic opportunities and sustainable natural resources for the city. The name is derived from the organization’s vision of what San Antonio will look like in the year 2020.
Castro’s goal with SA2020 was not just to make San Antonio a better city, but to transform it into a strong, vibrant, thriving community to work and live. The success of the program gained Castro national attention, and he was invited to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina in September 2012. His stirring speech thrust him onto the national political stage, where he has since remained.
Housing According to HUD
One figure who took notice of Castro’s rising star in the Democratic Party was President Barack Obama, who nominated Castro for his cabinet in May 2014. Castro was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the 16th Secretary of HUD in July 2014, just two months shy of his 40th birthday.
“Julián is a proven leader, a champion for safe, affordable housing and strong, sustainable neighborhoods,” President Obama said after Castro was confirmed as HUD Secretary. “I know that together with the dedicated professionals at HUD, Julián will help build on the progress we've made battling back from the Great Recession—rebuilding our housing market, reducing homelessness among veterans, and connecting neighborhoods with good schools and good jobs that help our citizens succeed.”
“What interested me when I was mayor was really revitalizing the urban core of the city, and that’s also part of HUD’s work—urban revitalization, and also smaller communities and tribal communities,” Castro said. “I have a real enthusiasm about that part of it as well. I believe that we’re living in this century of cities, where especially the younger generation likes the urban lifestyle. Companies and universities are moving back into the urban cores, and so it’s an exciting time for America’s cities. At HUD, we want to play a role in that, and this playspace work that we’re engaged in is essential to lift up urban communities.”
In January 2015, six months into his tenure as HUD Secretary, Castro made a controversial move. Concerned that too many creditworthy borrowers might be locked out of the housing market due to the tight lending standards adopted in the wake of the financial crisis, Castro lowered the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) premiums by 50 basis points down to 0.85 percent. The move drew heavy criticism from Republicans, since FHA had just received a $1.7 billion bailout in 2013 and a November 2014 audit of the MMI fund revealed that its capital ratio was at 0.41 percent, less than one quarter of the 2 percent level required by Congress.
Castro received some vindication in November 2015 when another audit of the MMI fund reported that for FY 2015, the fund’s capital ratio had skyrocketed past the congressionally mandated level up to 2.07 percent, having gained $19 billion in economic value during the previous fiscal year.
“I believe that responsible homeownership is still a good thing in the United States,” Castro told DS News. “Our homeownership rate is near a four-decade low. So we reduced the mortgage insurance premium last year and we saw a boost in FHA business. The housing market has continued to pick up. It’s gotten stronger and stronger. We will continue to do what we can to make credit available for responsible families who can pay their mortgage, because homeownership is still an important tool to build wealth in our country and pass that wealth on.”
Lowering the FHA MMI premium may help homebuyers get into homes, but what about the equally important initiative of sustaining homeownership once it is attained? HUD has heavily invested in housing counseling in the last couple of years in order to help homebuyers fully understand the magnitude of their purchase and steps they can take in order to maintain homeownership—and what to do should an economic shock, such as a job loss, should occur.
“People need to make decisions with their eyes wide open as informed consumers,” Castro said. “Going in, folks ought to be equipped with the knowledge to not bite off more than they can chew, but make a responsible decision. If they have a mortgage that is affordable to them, that is the most important step in ensuring that they can keep on with it. But once they’re in there, I think that everything else that goes into stable homeownership is important. That relates to the work that the president is doing to lift the economy back up. We’ve had 71 straight months of private sector job growth, more than 14 million private sector jobs created since early 2009. That’s the longest streak on record. The unemployment rate is at 4.9 percent. All of that bodes well for families being able to not just become homeowners but to stay in their homes.”
In July 2015, Castro rolled out what so far has been his signature program as HUD Secretary, and the first thing he mentioned when asked what he is most proud of having accomplished so far in that role—the ConnectHome initiative. Realizing that there is more to urban development than just providing affordable housing, Castro wanted to make sure that families living in HUD housing were afforded Internet access in order to allow both kids and parents a way to utilize important resources they would not otherwise have. ConnectHome also includes localized, free, and culturally sensitive training in essential digital literacy skills that will allow hem to most effectively utilize their broadband Internet access.
“We know that in this 21st century global economy that every single child needs the tools of this 21st century to succeed, and the Internet is a basic tool,” Castro said. “Unfortunately, the majority of folks in public housing don’t have access to the Internet, and we’re trying to change that.”
The Castro-led HUD achieved another major victory for housing with the finalization of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule in July 2015, which he called “an unfinished piece of business from the 1968 Fair Housing Act.” The purpose of the AFFH rule is to help communities that receive HUD funding get the help they need to meet fair housing obligations in the use of HUD funds. Castro says the rule “basically says to cities and other localities that receive HUD funding, ‘Work with us to create greater housing opportunity for everyone in your locality.’ We look forward to working with local communities to help spark greater opportunity, create greater mobility for families, and reduce segregation.”
Another proposal Castro and his team at HUD are currently trying to finalize is a ban on smoking in public housing. “We’re excited about that, because it’s going to have tremendous health benefits, especially for the young people and for the elderly to the extent that it gets implemented,” Castro said.
For his final year of the Obama Administration, Castro stated that the number one goal is to institutionalize place-based work.
“We have focused on getting these federal departments to work across silos and to challenge local communities to do the same with thins like our Choice Neighborhoods program, Promizons, strong cities, strong communities,” Castro said. “So we want to give that place-based work momentum going forward.”
“…That’s How Good He Is”
The rumblings persist that Castro is being groomed for a higher political office. He poured gasoline on the flames of speculation in October 2015 when he publicly appeared with Clinton and announced his endorsement of her for the presidency at a “Latinos for Hillary” rally in San Antonio. When asked if Castro would be her running mate, the former Secretary of State declared that day at a U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce meeting in San Antonio that “I think really highly of him, and I am thrilled to have his endorsement today. Both he and his twin brother are just among the best young leaders in America, regardless of category or the fact that they come from San Antonio. I am going to look really hard at him for anything, because that's how good he is.”
On the topic of his brother and Hillary Clinton, Joaquin Castro, who is currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, told reporters last October, “My brother is proud to support Hillary. He believes that she would make the best president of the United States, Democrat or Republican. So he’s going to do everything that he can, of course, to help her win.”
And then there is Henry Cisneros, who served as HUD Secretary during the Bill Clinton Administration, and who coincidentally like Castro is a former city council member and former mayor of San Antonio. Cisneros told Spanish-language TV station Univision in May 2015 that “What I am hearing in Washington, including from people in Hillary Clinton’s campaign, is that the first person on their lists is Julián Castro. (I’m hearing) that they don’t have a second option, because he is the superior candidate considering his record, personality, demeanor and Latin heritage. I think there is a very high possibility that Hillary Clinton may choose Julián Castro.”
Since no formal announcement has been made, the question remains: Is the vice presidency—or even the presidency—in the cards at some future date for Castro? If chosen to be on Clinton’s ticket as VP, he would be the first Latino vice presidential candidate in the country’s history. He has always deflected questions about whether or not he will be Clinton’s running mate. As recently as January during an appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Castro said he had not been approached by the Clinton campaign.
When asked by DS News if he would consider a higher political position if offered the opportunity, he replied, “Oh, I doubt it … I fully expect to be back in Texas a year from now.”
But despite his denials, one cannot help but wonder. After all, in 2004, eight years before Castro delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, a heretofore unknown Illinois State Senator named Barack Obama delivered that same speech at the DNC. Call him what you will for now… but you may next be calling him Mr. Vice President.
Don't Miss this interview and so much more in the March 2016 Edition of DS News.
