Julián Castro
Julián Castro is a former U.S. secretary of housing and urban development who served during the Obama administration from 2014 to 2017.
Castro announced that he was running for president of the United States on January 12, 2019.[1] He ended his presidential campaign on January 2, 2020.[2]
Prior to serving in the Obama administration, Castro was the mayor of San Antonio for five years. He also served on the San Antonio City Council, representing District 7.[3]
Biography
Castro was born in 1974 and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in political science/communications in 1996 and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2000.[4] Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001. At the age of 26, he was the youngest council member in the city's history.[5]
Castro did not seek re-election to the city council in 2005, instead running for mayor of San Antonio. He lost that election but ran again in 2009 and won with 56% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2011 and 2013.[5][6] During his second term as mayor, Castro delivered the keynote speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.[7]
Castro served as mayor until 2014, when President Barack Obama (D) named him U.S. secretary of housing and urban development. The Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 71-26. Castro filled this position until the end of Obama's second term in 2017.[8]
In 2018, Castro published a memoir entitled, An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream.[6]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Castro's academic, professional, and political career:[9]
- 2014 - January 20, 2017: U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- 2009 - 2014: Mayor of San Antonio
- 2005: Ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of San Antonio
- 2001 - 2005: San Antonio City Council member
- 2000: Earned J.D. from Harvard Law School
DNC keynote
Castro delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2012.[3] The full speech can be viewed here.
Elections
2020
Presidency
- See also: Presidential candidates, 2020
Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) won the presidential election on November 3, 2020. Biden received 306 electoral votes and President Donald Trump (R) received 232 electoral votes. In the national popular vote, Biden received 81.2 million votes and Trump received 74.2 million votes.
Castro announced that he was running for president of the United States on January 12, 2019.[1] He suspended his presidential campaign on January 2, 2020.[2]
Ballotpedia compiled the following resources about Castro and the 2020 presidential election:
- Recent news stories about the 2020 presidential election;
- An overview of key national and state campaign staffers;
- Endorsements from politicians, public figures, and organizations;
- An overview of candidate campaign travel; and
- A list of other presidential candidates who are running for election.
Click here for Castro's 2020 presidential campaign overview.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Nomination
During a nomination ceremony on May 23, 2016, President Barack Obama explained how Castro’s family prepared him to serve as the secretary of housing and urban development. Obama said, “Julián’s grandmother came to this country from Mexico. She worked as a maid, worked as a cook, worked as a babysitter -- whatever she had to do to keep a roof over her family’s head. And that’s because for her, and generations of Americans like her, a home is more than just a house. A home is a source of pride and security. It’s a place to raise a family and put down roots and build up savings for college or a business or retirement, or write a lifetime of memories. And maybe one day the kid grows up in that home and is able to go on to get a great education and become the Mayor of San Antonio, and become a member of the President’s Cabinet. Julián ha vivido el Sueño Americano. And it’s precisely because he’s lived out the American Dream that he’ll work his tail off to make sure more people can travel that same path and earn their own dreams as well.”[10]
Confirmation vote
Castro was confirmed by the Senate on July 9, 2014, by a vote of 71-26.[11] He succeeded Shaun Donovan.
| Julian Castro confirmation vote, July 9, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes for |
Votes against |
Total votes |
| 51 | 0 | 51 | |
| 18 | 26 | 44 | |
| 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Total Votes | 71 | 26 | 97 |
 |
Accomplishments
According to the Department of Housing and Urban development, Castro accomplished the following as secretary:[12]
- ”The Federal Housing Administration lowered mortgage insurance premiums to make homeownership more affordable for responsible families.”
- HUD released the “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule to fulfill the full promise of the Fair Housing Act - helping families' access strong neighborhoods with housing choice vouchers and empowering local leaders with new tools to invest in their communities.”
- ”In July of 2015, President Obama helped launch one of Secretary Castro's signature projects, ConnectHome, which accelerates Internet adoption in 28 communities, providing broadband and electronic devices to children living in public and assisted housing.”
Noteworthy events
Possible 2016 Democratic vice presidential candidate
- See also: Possible vice presidential picks, 2016
Castro was mentioned as a possible Democratic vice presidential candidate. On July 22, 2016, Hillary Clinton announced that she had selected U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her running mate.[13]
Hatch Act violation
On July 18, 2016, the Office of Special Counsel found that Castro had violated the Hatch Act—which prohibits federal employees from influencing elections while serving in their official capacity—by discussing Hillary Clinton’s candidacy with the HUD seal behind him. "In responding to a journalist's question about the 2016 election, I offered my opinion to the interviewer after making it clear that I was articulating my personal view and not an official position. At the time, I believed that this disclaimer was what was required by the Hatch Act. However, your analysis provides that it was not sufficient,” Castro said in a statement.[14]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Ballot measure activity
The following table details Castro's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for Julián Castro | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| California Proposition 15, Tax on Commercial and Industrial Properties for Education and Local Government Funding Initiative (2020) | 2020 | Supported[15] | |
| Albuquerque, New Mexico, Proposition 2, Democracy Dollars Program Initiative (November 2019) | 2019 | Supported[16] | |
| Florida Amendment 4, Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative (2018) | 2018 | Supported[17] | |
Personal
Castro and his wife, Erica, have two children, Carina and Cristian. His mother, Maria, was the founder of the La Raza Unida political party in San Antonio and unsuccessfully ran for city council 1971. His father was a math teacher. Castro's twin brother, Joaquin Castro (D), served as a representative in the U.S. House representing Texas' 20th Congressional District.[12][3]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Julian Castro Department of Housing and Urban Development. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huffington Post, "Julián Castro, Former Obama Housing Chief, Announces 2020 Presidential Run," January 12, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CNBC, "Julian Castro drops out of 2020 Democratic primary race," January 2, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Biography.com, "Julián Castro," accessed May 23, 2014
- ↑ Vote Smart, "Julián Castro's Biography," accessed July 9, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 AJC, "Who is Julian Castro? 6 things to know about the former HUD chief," accessed July 9, 2019
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 ThoughtCo, "Biography of Julián Castro, 2020 Presidential Candidate," Match 16, 2019
- ↑ YouTube, "Election 2012 | Julián Castro's DNC Keynote Speech | The New York Times," September 4, 2012
- ↑ GovTrack, "On the Nomination: Julián Castro," July 9, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named“biobio" - ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, “President Obama Nominates Julián Castro as Next HUD Secretary, and Shaun Donovan as OMB Director,” accessed June 17, 2016
- ↑ GovTrack, "On the Nomination: Julián Castro," July 9, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 HUD.gov, “Biography of Secretary Julián Castro,” accessed June 17, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Hillary Clinton selects Tim Kaine, a popular senator from a swing state, as running mate," July 22, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Castro violated Hatch Act by touting Clinton," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Julián Castro," October 5, 2019
- ↑ Twitter, "Julian Castro, October 29, 2019
- ↑ Florida Politics, "‘Julián Castro 2020’? Former HUD head addresses Democrats in Miami," accessed October 1, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Shaun Donovan |
U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2014 - 2017 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Phil Hardberger |
Mayor of San Antonio 2009 - 2014 |
Succeeded by Ivy R. Taylor |
| |||||||||||||||||||
