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Member Number: 6114
Alphonso Roy Jackson (born September 9, 1945 in Marshall, Texas) is the current and 13th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was nominated by President George W. Bush on January 28, 2004 and unanimously confirmed by the Senate on March 31, 2004. He previously served as Deputy Secretary of HUD since June 2001.
After former HUD Secretary Mel Martinez left the administration to campaign to become a United States Senator for Florida, Deputy Secretary Jackson became acting secretary of HUD.
[edit] Early life and career
Born in Texas, Jackson grew up in South Dallas in a family with 12 children. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science (1968) and a master's degree in education administration (1969) from Northeast Missouri State University now Truman State University and a J.D. from Washington University School of Law in 1973. Secretary Jackson is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.
In 1977, Jackson became the Director of Public Safety for the City of St. Louis. Jackson also served as executive director for the St. Louis Housing Authority. While there, he also became an assistant professor at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Later, Jackson was Director of the Department of Public and Assisted Housing in Washington, DC.
From January 1989 until July 1996, Jackson was President and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Dallas. He later became President of American Electric Power-TEXAS, a large utility company located in Austin, Texas. In 1995, Governor George W. Bush appointed Jackson to the Texas Southern University Board of Regents, and he served until 2003.
[edit] Cabinet career
Jackson first joined the Bush Administration in June of 2001 as HUD's Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer. As Deputy Secretary, Jackson managed the day-to-day operations of the $32 billion agency.
As Secretary, Jackson is tasked with guiding HUD in its mission of providing affordable housing and promoting economic development, as assignment to which he brings more than 25 years of direct experience in both the private and pubic sectors.
On April 28, 2006, Jackson spoke at a meeting in Dallas and addressed the subject of government contracting. He recounted that a prospective African-American HUD contractor had made a "heck of a proposal" and was selected upon the basis of that proposal, but upon thanking Secretary Jackson for being selected the bidder, mentioned that he did not like President Bush. As a result, Jackson said, the bidder who had criticized Bush did not receive the contract: "Brother, you have a disconnect — the president is elected, I was selected. You wouldn’t be getting the contract unless I was sitting here. If you have a problem with the president, don’t tell the secretary." Jackson asked the crowd, "Why should I reward someone who doesn't like the president, so they can use funds to try to campaign against the president? Logic says they don't get the contract. That's the way I believe."
After Jackson's comment, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) called for Jackson to resign. In response, the Department of Housing and Urban Development stated that Jackson's statement was not literally true but instead "anecdotal," and meant only to "explain to this group how politics works in D.C." An inspector general's report later claimed that Jackson "personally intervened with contractors whom he did not like...these contractors had Democratic political affiliations," however no direct proof was found that Jackson's staff obeyed.
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