Julian Castro

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For the former president of Venezuela, see Julián Castro.
Julián Castro
Julián Castro's Official HUD Portrait.jpg
16th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
In office
July 28, 2014 – January 20, 2017
President Barack Obama
Deputy Nani Coloretti
Preceded by Shaun Donovan
Succeeded by Ben Carson
Mayor of San Antonio
In office
June 1, 2009 – July 22, 2014
Preceded by Phil Hardberger
Succeeded by Ivy Taylor
Personal details
Born (1974-09-16) September 16, 1974 (age 49)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Erica Lira
Children Carina
Cristian
Alma mater Stanford University (B.A.)
Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Religion Roman Catholicism

Julián Castro (/ˌhuːliˈɑːn/ hoo-lee-AHN,[1] Spanish pronunciation: [xuˈljan]; born September 16, 1974) is an American politician who was the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2014 until 2017. Previously Castro served three terms as the Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, from 2009 to 2014.

Early life and family

Julián Castro was born in San Antonio, Texas, on September 16, 1974,[2] to Maria "Rosie" Castro and Jessie Guzman.[3] He is the identical twin brother of current United States Representative Joaquín Castro.[2] His mother was a Chicana political activist who helped establish the Chicano political party La Raza Unida,[4] and who ran unsuccessfully for San Antonio City Council in 1971.[2] Castro once stated, "My mother is probably the biggest reason that my brother and I are in public service. Growing up, she would take us to a lot of rallies and organizational meetings and other things that are very boring for an 8-, 9-, 10-year-old".[5] His father, Jessie Guzman, is a retired math teacher and political activist. Never married, Rosie and Jessie separated when Castro and his brother were eight years old.[4] Castro's Texan roots trace back to 1920, when his grandmother, Victoria Castro, joined extended family members there as a six-year-old orphan from northern Mexico.[2]

In 2007 Castro married Erica Lira Castro, an elementary school teacher. In 2009 their daughter Carina Castro was born.[4] On December 27, 2014 Castro announced via Twitter the birth of the couple's second child, a son, Cristián Julián Castro.[6]

Education

Castro attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he played football, basketball and tennis; he also collected trading cards.[7] He skipped his sophomore year[8] and graduated in 1992,[9] ranking ninth in his class.[4] He had received an offer to play tennis at Trinity University, a NCAA Division III school in his hometown, but chose to attend Stanford University.[10]

He graduated from Stanford in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in political science and communications. He said he began thinking about entering politics while at Stanford,[4] where he and his brother launched their first campaigns and won student senate seats, tying for the highest number of votes.[2] Castro has credited affirmative action for his admission into Stanford, telling The New York Times, "Joaquín and I got into Stanford because of affirmative action. I scored 1,210 on my SATs, which was lower than the median matriculating student. But I did fine in college and in law school. So did Joaquín. I’m a strong supporter of affirmative action because I’ve seen it work in my own life".[11]

Castro entered Harvard Law School in 1997 and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 2000.[12][13] His brother graduated from both schools with him.[4] After law school, the two brothers worked for the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld before starting their own firm in 2005.[14]

Political career

San Antonio city council and mayor

Julian Castro and his twin brother Representative Joaquin Castro at the LBJ Presidential Library.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid meets with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Nominee Julián Castro on July 7, 2014

Castro was elected to the San Antonio City Council in 2001, winning 61 percent of the vote against five challengers. At age 26 he was the youngest city councilman in San Antonio history, surpassing Henry Cisneros, who won his council seat in 1975 at age 27. (Coincidentally, Cisneros was also later elected San Antonio's mayor then appointed secretary of HUD.) Castro represented District 7, a precinct on the city’s west side with 115,000 residents. The population was 70 percent Hispanic and included a large number of senior citizens.[15] As a councilman from 2001 to 2005, he had opposed a PGA-approved golf course and large-scale real estate development on the city’s outer rim.[16]

Castro ran for Mayor of San Antonio in 2005 and was widely viewed as the front runner in a field that also included retired judge Phil Hardberger and conservative city councilman Carroll Schubert. He was defeated by approximately 4000 votes when Hardberger received 51.5% of the votes.[17][18]

Castro ran for Mayor of San Antonio again in 2009, announcing his candidacy on November 5, 2008. Castro won the election on May 9, 2009 with 56.23% of the vote, his closest opponent being Trish DeBerry-Mejia.[19] He became the fifth Latino mayor in the history of San Antonio. He was the youngest mayor of a top-50 American city.[20]

In 2010 Castro created SA2020, a community-wide visioning effort. It generated a list of goals created by the people of San Antonio based on their collective vision for San Antonio in the year 2020. SA2020 then became a nonprofit organization tasked with turning that vision into a reality.[21]

Castro also established Cafe College in 2010, offering college guidance to San Antonio-area students. In 2012 he led a voter referendum to expand pre-kindergarten education.[20]

Castro was re-elected in 2011, running against four candidates; he received 82.9% of the votes.[22]

Castro gained national attention in 2012 when he was the first Hispanic to deliver the keynote address at a Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.[23][24]

In 2013, Castro was re-elected for a third term as Mayor of San Antonio. Castro won 67% of the votes but did very little campaigning, as none of his opponents made a serious attempt to win the mayoral election.[25]

He resigned as mayor effective July 22, 2014, so that he could take up his duties in Washington. The San Antonio City Council elected councilmember Ivy Taylor to replace him.[26]

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Secretary Castro introducing President Obama at an event on the recovering housing sector in Phoenix, Arizona in January 2015.

On May 22, 2014 the White House announced Castro as the nominee to be the next Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Barack Obama. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 9, 2014, by a vote of 71-26 and replaced Shaun Donovan, who was nominated to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.[27] He took office on July 28, 2014 as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.[28] Following the announcement, Castro was discussed as a potential 2016 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee.[29][30]

On July 28, 2014, his first day in office, Castro was honored at a reception called "Celebrating Latino Cabinet Members" hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.[31]

2016 Presidential election

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See also: Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016

On October 15, 2015, Castro endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. When Clinton was asked if Castro could be her pick for vice president, she said, "I am going to look really hard at him for anything, because that's how good he is."[32]

Political positions

Castro has been an advocate for LGBT rights and as mayor opposed the law in Texas (later overturned by the US Supreme Court) that denied legal recognition to same-sex marriages.[33]

References

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  6. ↑ http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/its-boy-hud-secr-julian-castro-wife-welcome-second-child-n276251
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Bexar County, Texas Primary Runoff Election May 27, 2014 Statistics, www.bexar.org
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Bexar County, Texas Joint General & Special May 14, 2011, www.bexar.org
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of San Antonio
2009–2014		 Succeeded by
Ivy Taylor
Preceded by United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
2014–2017		 Succeeded by
Ben Carson
Party political offices
Preceded by Keynote Speaker of the Democratic National Convention
2012		 Most recent
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