December 2016
The nomination of Dr. Ben Carson, the former presidential
candidate and neurosurgeon, as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) has been met by an outcry from those asserting that he is unqualified for
the position. Dr. Carson’s detractors argue that his lack of experience in
housing or community development are instant disqualifiers, which causes one to
pause and ponder prior appointees to the position, the career experience those individuals
possessed, and the result of their tenures on the present state of urban
America.
Other arguments that have been proffered include his lack of
government experience, having never managed anything close to the size of the $47
billion agency, and his apathy for the idea of the government being able to act
to improve the lives of vulnerable citizens, an assertion attributed to his
June 2015 comments where he stated, “there are reasonable ways to use housing
policy to enhance the opportunities available to lower-income citizens, but
based on the history of failed socialist experiments in this country,
entrusting the government to get it right can prove downright dangerous”.
Looking back at HUD secretaries over the last three administrations
(Castro, Donovan, Preston, Jackson, Martinez, Cuomo, Cisneros), three had prior
backgrounds in housing, two previously served as mayor of the city of San
Antonio, then you had one lawyer and one banker. These prior HUD secretaries
had varying degrees of success, however, the impact of each secretary draws no
direct correlation to the experience they brought to the position. Furthermore,
the combined efforts of these former secretaries have culminated in rendering
America’s urban communities to the state they are currently in: gentrifying in
growing cities, and deplorable in stagnant or contracting cities.
Whether Dr. Carson has the requisite experience to run HUD
in the context of his own previous admission is up for fair debate, however,
the larger issue we must focus on is the current state of urban and rural
America, and the impact the efforts, or lack thereof, of prior secretaries has
rendered on these communities. If we are to accept the premise that prior
housing experience is a necessary qualifier for assuming the role, then following
that logic should point to results that show how previous secretaries with the
relative experience, left a legacy of transforming urban and rural communities
all over the United States.
This clearly has not been the case, and in light of recent
administrative rulings by HUD, and the Supreme Court ruling in TDHCA vs. ICP,
urban communities specifically risk suffering deeper underinvestment going
forward. Cities such as San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles,
which enjoyed significant economic success over the last two decades have
watched their inner-city communities undergo significant gentrification,
displacing long-term residents. Emerging metropolitan areas are currently
undergoing a similar trend, as seen in cities such as Houston, Austin,
Washington-DC, and Denver. In each of these cases, communities that for a
long-term were neglected and had no significant investment, welcomed
revitalization of their areas, only to get swept away as older single-family
homes were replaced by multi-story townhomes, and mom and pop shops, were
replaced by coffee shops and organic restaurants.
The next HUD Secretary has to commit to assembling a team
that will focus on revitalizing communities, rather than simply rehabilitation
of existing units or delivery of new housing. Revitalization of these declining
communities must prioritize housing, infrastructural investment, economic
development, educational improvement, mass transportation, and physical and
mental healthcare. The next secretary also must be judicious in application of
the affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) rule by prioritizing balancing
the need to create housing options in so-called “high opportunity areas”, and
the urgent need to invest in communities at risk of gentrification or greater decline
into further deplorable conditions.
A Secretary with a fresh perspective might just be the shot
in the arm that is needed by HUD, and Dr. Carson could have the potential to
not only transform the agency, but to elevate its significance from the
perspective of Congress, and in the minds of Americans.
