Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. is slated to direct the newly created White House Office of Urban Policy, sources familiar with the appointment said last night.
Carrión had been rumored as a contender to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development — a rumor that gained legs, in fact, thanks to Carrión himself. He made headlines last week for telling two New Haven, Conn., groups on Dec. 5 that he was in line to head a Cabinet department.
Instead, the HUD Cabinet post went today to another New Yorker, city housing commissioner Shaun Donovan.
If this is a consolation prize for Carrión, it is one that is near and dear to the president-elect’s heart. Obama campaigned on the creation of an urban policy office, saying it was needed “to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest-impact programs.”
And the office’s director will report directly to the president.
Senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett told black columnists last month that the office would better coordinate federal efforts to help America’s cities, and she called the head of the office “really a critical position.” Read more..
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