President Barack Obama's expected nomination of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro as secretary of Housing and Urban Development could test the 39-year-old's ability to navigate Washington ahead of 2016 elections, Texas Democrats say, according to Reuters.
If Castro is nominated to preside over HUD and confirmed by the Senate, he would become one of the highest-ranking Hispanic officials in the Obama administration, Reuters reported.
Castro earned an undergraduate degree at Stanford University and a law degree at Harvard before returning to San Antonio to become, at age 26, the city's youngest councilman, Reuters reported.
As mayor, Castro spearheaded a voter-approved preschool program; set up a walk-in center for high school students seeking guidance on college; and initiated revitalization of some of San Antonio's most downtrodden neighborhoods, according to Reuters.
"That says a lot. He carries with him the hopes and dreams and prayers of the entire Latino population," said U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Texas, according to Reuters.
Gallego also thinks a Castro nomination would galvanize a grassroots effort in Texas to turn the historically Republican-dominated state into a place where Democrats can compete, Reuters reported.
While neither Castro brother speaks Spanish fluently, both became well-versed in politics at an early age when their mother, Rosie, took them to political rallies and meetings, according to Reuters.
With the housing market's lackluster recovery, if Julian Castro is named housing secretary, it will matter where he came from, Cisneros says, Reuters reported.
"This is a poor city, so it means a lot that a person who's going to be in public service is living the reality. He has never strayed far from his roots," Cisneros said, according to Reuters.
