Rick Garcia tapped as HUD director

Rick Garcia today was named HUD Region VIII executive director, according to sources.

Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia has been  named as HUD regional director for Colorado and five other states.

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan  announced that President Barack Obama’s selected Garcia as the HUD director for Region VIII that also includes Montana, both Dakotas,  Wyoming and Utah.

InsideRealEstateNews.com was the first publication to report that Garcia was likely to be named as the HUD regional director. (For the previous blog, please go to this link.)

Garcia’s City Council term would have expired in 2011. A spokeswoman from his office said a special election will be held within 60 days after his resignation. Garcia, who was first elected in District 1, which covers portions of northwest Denver in 2003, has not yet announced his resignation date.

Garcia will serve as HUD’s liaison to mayors, city managers, elected representatives, state and local officials, congressional delegations, stakeholders and customers and will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of HUD programs and services to communities, and evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness.

“This Administration is focused on addressing housing, transportation, education and energy together, when we look to improve communities,” said  Donovan. “Rick Garcia understands and embraces the sustainable community concept. When you combine that with his extensive work on the affordable housing front and foreclosures, he became the ideal candidate for this position.”

“I am honored to have been selected and appointed by President Obama to serve as HUD’s regional director during this important time of economic challenge and opportunity in our nation’s history,” Garcia said. “My understanding of western cultures, land use, transportation, housing and community economic development allows me to hit the ground running and lead the Rocky Mountain region in achieving HUD’s national objectives.”

David Zucker, owner of Zocalo Development, one of the greenest infill developers in Denver, said Garcia was a great choice.

“Rick is a hand-in-glove Rick is  fit for the job,” Zucker said. “He’s a thoughtful, committed advocate of housing – of all types – who, from a broad background of experiences, is schooled in understanding the critical but complex relationship between housing, transportation, planning and energy. He’s going to be a great leader for this HUD region.”

Elected to the Denver City Council in June 2003, Garcia has made economic revitalization, access to new transit projects and business development his priorities. Garcia has served as the chair  of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) and has served as Chairman of the Metro Vision Issues Committee and a voting member of the Regional Transportation Committee of DRCOG.

Garcia is also the former Board Chair of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority of the NEWSED Community Development Corporation and is a founding Community Advisor to the University of Colorado’s Latino/ Research and Policy Center.

Prior to being elected as a city council member, he also served as a consultant on Denver business development and government affairs, a senior manager for organizational development, training and Direct Services in the Colorado Department of Administration and Personnel, the state director for Small Business Development and Policy and, president of the Denver Urban Economic Development Corporation.

Garcia has earned numerous state and local awards for his leadership and community advocacy work. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Columbia College and he earned his MPA from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.

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