State and local advocacy groups hailed President Obama's appointments last week to a new White House Office of Urban Affairs, which they said would boost the relationship between the federal government and localities.
Obama tapped former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion as director of the office, and Derek Douglas, former Washington counsel to New York Gov. David Paterson, as special assistant to the president.
"I think it's fantastic," said Don Borut, executive director of the National League of Cities. Carrion "is someone with gravitas, someone who will be a player and ... someone who has an appreciation of the broad spectrum of urban issues."
Obama championed better intergovernmental relationships during his campaign and has followed through with that promise during the transition and the first few weeks of his presidency, Borut said.
The administration created the office to "develop a strategy for metropolitan America and to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest-impact programs," a White House press release said. In his new position, Carrion will report directly to Obama and coordinate all federal urban programs.
"I look forward to working with these talented leaders to bring long overdue attention to the urban areas where 80% of the American people live and work," Obama said. "Vibrant cities spawn innovation, economic growth, and cultural enrichment; the Urban Affairs office will focus on wise investments and development in our urban areas that will create employment and housing opportunities and make our country more competitive, prosperous, and strong."
Carrion was a two-term Bronx president and one-term president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. As Bronx Borough president, he oversaw the creation of 40,000 new units of housing in seven years, 50 new schools, $7 billion of capital and infrastructure expenditures, and more than $400 million for new parks and parkland renovation, the White House statement said.
In addition to Douglas' role as counsel to Paterson, he was director of the governor's District of Columbia office, which required him to be the governor's chief architect for federal policy. Douglas also served as associate director of economic policy at the Center for American Progress where he founded and served as director of the economic mobility program. Prior to that, he was a counsel at O'Melveny & Myers LLP.
Separately, Obama recently appointed two officials, David P. Agnew and Shaun McGrath, as deputy directors of the White House's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, which is expected to work in tandem with Urban Affairs. I
Borut said he is confident with the appointees' understanding of public finance and its role in urban development. Borut also said Agnew was receptive to the NLC-led idea to create a nonprofit, national mutual credit-enhancement company, an initiative for which the group is seeking federal help.
Prior to joining the White House, Agnew was a businessman and community leader in Charleston, S.C. Before that, he was top deputy to Charleston mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. and from 1993 to 1996 served as a special assistant to Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
McGrath was program director for the Western Governors Association, an organization representing the governors of the 19 Western states and three U.S. territories in the Pacific, where he managed programs on wildlife corridors, sustainable water, renewable energy, and climate adaptation. McGrath is also the mayor of Boulder, Colo.
