San Antonio Mayor to Lead H.U.D.
Source: NYTimes
By JONATHAN MARTIN and PETER BAKER
WASHINGTON — President Obama intends to choose Mayor Julián Castro of San Antonio as the secretary of housing and urban development in a cabinet reshuffling, according to Democrats informed about the plans.
Mr. Castro, who has often been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate for the Democrats, would take the place of Shaun Donovan, who would move to head the Office of Management and Budget. That job is being vacated by Sylvia Mathews Burwell, whom Mr. Obama has nominated as secretary of health and human services.
Mr. Castro, 39, won national attention as the keynote speaker at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, and he and his twin brother, Representative Joaquin Castro, have become popular speakers on the party’s fund-raising circuit.
Mr. Obama approached Mr. Castro after the 2012 election about serving as transportation secretary, but Mr. Castro indicated that he preferred to stay in San Antonio.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/politics/san-antonio-mayor-to-lead-hud.html?_r=0
= new reply since forum marked as read
You've just heard the last of Julian castro, I'm afraid...
After HUD secretary, Julian can always run for office again like congress/senator/governor and then make a run for the white house. HUD can help build up a constituency and network in many cities across America.
...he won't win the Governorship or a Senate seat in Texas.
This is the best reason I have read to date:
For one thing, Castro knows the subject matter. Big-city mayors deal with housing and urban development, along with economic renewal, on a regular basis. He'll be comfortable at HUD. And it doesn't hurt that, if Castro needs guidance, he can turn to Cisneros, a friend and mentor who knows the department very well, since he ran it for four years during the Clinton administration.
For another, Castro's political options in Texas -- a dependably red state -- are limited. He could run for re-election as mayor next year, and serve out what would be his final term until 2017. Then what? He could enter the private sector, and make a comfortable living practicing law, giving speeches, and writing books. But his political career would be over, just like those of many Texas Democrats before him. His decision to join the Cabinet is a wild card, but one that might just keep him in the game.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/19/opinion/navarrette-julian-castro-hud-obama/index.html
Cisneros was HUD secretary before there were possibilities for Hispanics in positions like President or Vice President. Since the population of Hispanics in the U.S. has increased and their voting black has sparked interest, times have changed. Julian Castro is very intelligent, and realizes that at his age, there will be many possibilities for his political career if he handles himself well in this post. I believe the old saying "The times they are a changing." applies here. Stay tuned. 
This will give him some experience in the federal sector and will allow him to do some networking inside the beltway with his bro!
If anything, he & Joaquin would be the perfect counters to the inordinate media attention given to the 2 blowhard pretenders - Rubio and Cruz.
and background story:
From political matriarch Rosie Castro, the sons also rise
An outspoken activist, she was an influence on Julián and Joaquín to enter public service.
By Josh Baugh : September 29, 2012 : Updated: September 30, 2012 1:25am
The segregated barrios of the city's West Side a half-century ago were an unlikely inspiration for Maria del Rosario Castro, the daughter of an orphaned Mexican immigrant who as a girl picked ticks from white families' cocker spaniels.
She grew into a firebrand, the matriarch of a new political generation, from the broken streets of her youth that flooded when it rained.
The neighborhood starkly contrasted the picturesque Alamo Heights homes that her mother cleaned while “Rosie” tended to the dogs in the backyard.
Her neighbors lacked decent city services and a strong voice to say so. Blacks and Hispanics were missing from the clergy and the classrooms, from white-collar jobs and from City Hall.
In her growing awareness, Rosie noticed a dearth of politicians willing to advocate for the causes of her community.
“Very early on,” she said, “I just had to ask, ‘Why?'” ...
more here - http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/From-political-matriarch-the-sons-also-rise-3905913.php
I don't want to see him leave his leadership role in Texas to be buried in an agency. Sorry, but this is not good enough.
I want him running for POTUS in a decade and this won't give him the kind of name recognition needed. It's possible that Julian has decided it's the road he wants to take, and if so, he'll be great at this, like anything else.
Just sayin'
I couldn't agree more. 
for President Obama for choosing him. 
pride:
