John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... 
Loretta P. Martinez, the wife of Rick Garcia, watches as the Denver City Councilman is sworn in as director of Region VIII for HUD.
Rick M. Garcia was sworn in as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new Regional Director for Region VIII serving the six states in HUD’s Rocky Mountain Region which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. InsideRealEstateNews.com was the first news organization to report that the Denver City Councilman was the new HUD regional director. Ten people are currently competing for his city council seat.
As the regional director, Garcia will serve as HUD’s liaison to mayors, city managers, elected representatives, state and local officials, congressional representatives, stakeholders and customers. He will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of HUD programs and services to communities, as well as evaluating their efficiency and effectiveness.
HUD impacts millions
“Given the importance of HUD’s impact in the daily lives of millions of people and the future of our communities, it is an honor to have been appointed to serve as HUD’s Regional Director for the Rocky Mountain Region,” said Garcia. “I look forward to working for this Administration who is committed to sustainability, transformation, accountability and innovation in putting Federal resources to work more effectively. Indeed, it is an exciting time to work with Secretary Shaun Donovan, Deputy Secretary Ron Sims, our HUD employees and our many partners and stakeholders to accomplish reform and program improvements to ensure the best possible HUD service.”
“Rick’s decision to join HUD could not come at a better time as we focus on addressing housing, transportation, education and energy together,” explained Shaun Donovan, HUD Secretary. “He understands and also embraced the sustainable communities during his work as Denver City Councilman. His experiences in affordable housing and foreclosures and his leadership skills will prove critical to HUD as it transforms itself and works with the communities we serve in these challenging times.”
Garcia’s long record of service
Garcia was elected to the Denver City Council in June 2003. Throughout his tenure, he made economic revitalization, access to new transit projects and business development his priorities. Garcia was recognized in 2006 by the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado and the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as Government/Community Advocate of the Year.
Prior to serving on the Denver city Council, Garcia was an elected RTD Board Commissioner and is credited for bringing necessary stability and credibility to the RTD board which led to the voter’s successful passage of the FasTracks initiative. In 1985, Garcia founded the Denver Enterprise Center, a small business incubator.
He served as State Director of Small Business Development in the Office of Former Governor Roy Romer and started his business development career with the E. W. Hahn Company of San Diego, Calif., one of the country’s largest real estate shopping center developers. While living in Pueblo, he also worked for the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation.
Garcia is a former Board Chair of the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Vice Chair of the NEWSED Community Development Corporation and is a founding Community Advisor to the University of Colorado’s Latino/a Research and Policy Center. Garcia also served as a board member and as chair of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG). He served as Chairman of multiple committees, including the Metro Vision Issues Committee, Neighborhood Community and Business Revitalization. Garcia was a voting member of the Regional Transportation Committee of DRCOG. He served as co-chair of a newly formed Foreclosure Task Force designed to look at the city’s growing problem relative to home foreclosures and abandoned properties.
Garcia served as past chairman of the Council’s General Government and Public Safety Committees and as a member of Economic Development, FasTracks, and Blueprint Denver Committees. In 2005, he was instrumental in the passage of the ballot initiative that approved the building of a new Denver Justice Center.
Additionally, he sponsored legislation that created the City’s Crime Prevention and Control Commission, which he chaired. He formed a Redevelopment Task Force with the support of Mayor John Hickenlooper that was responsible for creating a community redevelopment plan for the St. Anthony’s Central Hospital’s 16 acre campus after the hospital announced its plans to relocate to Lakewood.
Garcia earned his Master of Public Administration Degree from the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business administration from Columbia College. He is married to lawyer Loretta P. Martinez, originally of Pueblo. They have three daughters.
Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com or 303-945-6865.
