April 12, 2004

On April 1, the day after being confirmed by the Senate, Alphonso Jackson was sworn in as the 13th Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Secretary Jackson is well known to mayors who have heard him speak at two Conference of Mayors Annual meetings: Detroit in 2001 and Denver in 2003. During his earlier career, the Secretary directed public housing authorities in Washington (DC), St. Louis, and Dallas. He was also Director of Public Safety for St. Louis, and Chairperson for the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency Board. Before his nomination by President Bush to be HUD's Deputy Secretary in 2001, Jackson was the President of American Electric Power-Texas, a $13 billion utility company, located in Austin (TX).