Ron Sims to be nominated as HUD's Deputy SecretaryMortgagePress.comRon Sims, HUD, President Barack Obama, Shaun Donovan, King County Executive
President Barack Obama has announced that he intends to nominate
Ron Sims, County Executive of King County, Wash., to become the
Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). As the Deputy Secretary, Sims will be charged
with managing HUD's day-to-day operations, a nearly $39 billion
annual operating budget and the agency's 8,500 employees.
Sims has earned numerous accolades and a national reputation for
his environmental stewardship, aggressive reforms of government,
and for willingness to make the tough choices necessary to ensure
that American tax dollars are spent wisely.
"Ron's track record as an innovative leader with an exciting
vision for the future of our nation's communities make him the
perfect Deputy Secretary candidate as we tackle the nation's
housing crisis amidst the biggest economic downturn in decades,"
said HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan. "His experience at the helm of a
large urban government provides a critical perspective and his
collaborative approach to problem-solving has prepared him to
effectively lead HUD's operations as the agency charts a new
aggressive course."
Elected to a third term, King County Executive Sims oversees the
13th most populous county in the nation, a metropolitan area with
1.8 million residents and 39 cities including the cities of
Seattle, Bellevue and Redmond. King County accounts for 40 percent
of the state's jobs and is home to businesses and organizations
such as Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon.com, Nordstrom's, and
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The county government has a
workforce of over 13,000 and an annual budget of $4.9 billion. Sims
is a graduate of Central Washington University. He is a Board
Member for Reconnecting America Center for Transit Oriented
Development, advisory board member of the Brookings Center on Urban
and Metropolitan Policy, board member and former chair of Sound
Transit, board member of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, the
National Committee of Quality Assurance and Rainier Scholars. He is
Co-Chair of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County and
founding chairman of the board of the Puget Sound Health
Alliance.
"I am thrilled and honored that Ron has agreed to be considered
for this role," added Donovan. "He is the perfect person to help
HUD return to national leadership on metropolitan planning.
Together, we will work with President Obama to ensure HUD is doing
all it can to help the nation's communities recover from today's
economic realities and to better position them for the future."
Sim's nomination requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
For more information, visit www.hud.gov.
