Mercedes Marquez

Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development (July 2009)

(HUD)

Why She Matters

Marquez is in the unique position of being old hat before she is even confirmed for her position as assistant secretary for Community Planning and Development (CPD) at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Georgetown-trained lawyer has already dealt directly with almost all of the HUD programs she will be overseeing in her former roles as general counsel at HUD and head of Los Angeles' Housing Department.

Marquez will use her experience to transform CPD's patchwork of programs into a collection of efficient organizations. "I commit to bring a disciplined focus to CPD and will work to insure accountability, transparency, expertise and flexibility that support the efforts of local government," she said at her Senate confirmation hearing in May 2009.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Housing (2004 to 2009); Vice President, McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc. (2001 to 2004); General Council, Department of Housing and Urban Development (1997 to 2001)
Hometown: San Francisco, Calif.
Alma Mater: University of Southern California, B.A., Georgetown University, J.D. and LL.M.

Spouse: Mirta Ocana
Web site

Path to Power

Marquez grew up in San Francisco, Calif. She earned her B.A. from the University of Southern California and her J.D. and LL.M. from Georgetown University.

In 1992, she joined the law firm Litt & Stormer, where she specialized in complex public-interest litigation including fair- housing lawsuits and poor-quality housing battles. In one case, Marquez represented tenants suing the city of Los Angeles because their apartments were falling apart. Eventually, she settled the case for $2.4 million, earning tenants an average of $37,000 each.

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The Clinton Administration

In 1997, Marquez joined the Clinton administration as the senior counsel to then-HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. There, she advised Cuomo on civil-rights policy, fair-housing enforcement and housing-discrimination cases. She also led efforts to improve housing in rural areas, Native American reservations and in "colonias" along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In 2000, Marquez toyed with the idea of running for an open House seat in L.A., but ultimately decided to return to private practice. In 2001, she joined McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc., an urban development firm, as vice president.

Los Angeles Housing Department

In 2004, Marquez was appointed general manager of the City of Los Angeles Housing Department. In that position, she oversaw a $100 million affordable trust, which helped fund 4,765 new affordable units from 2004 to 2006. She also developed strategies for incentivizing the building of low-income housing and helped shepherd the city through the subprime mortgage crisis.

One of her biggest victories was successfully lobbying for regulations that limit the size of remodeled homes and that make it harder to convert low-income housing into luxury lofts. Marquez said those moves ensured "everybody has a say and stake" in Los Angeles.

But a 2007 audit criticized the department as wasteful, finding that it lost about $6 million because it did not adequately ensure its borrowers and developers were complying with loan promises. Marquez agreed with the audit's criticisms, but argued that she was slowly fixing problems left by the previous general manager. She pointed out that the department had collected $50 million by cracking down on delinquent loans since she started in 2004.

Marquez's tenure was also marked by several controversies. In 2004, she was accused of playing favorites by trying to create a $150,000-a-year analyst position in her office for her partner Mirta Ocana. The Los Angeles City Council eventually voted to exempt the position from civil-service rules, allowing Ocana to be appointed to a position in the mayor's office.

Marquez was also attacked in 2006 for approving about $20,000 in payments to a "team building" trainer whose lessons included breathing exercises. In October 2007, Marquez sent 45 city employees to volunteer during a work day for Habitat for Humanity. Some officials attacked the move, by saying tax payers should not be funding volunteer work.

Rejoining HUD

In May 2009, Marquez was tapped to join HUD once again, this time as assistant secretary for CPD. In that position, she will oversee homeless assistance programs, community and neighborhood grants, rural housing and economic development and housing for AIDS patients. Marquez will also administer the $2 billion in stimulus money earmarked for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which competitively allots money to struggling municipalities.

Her appointment was supported by the Presidential Appointments Project, which lobbies for the appointment of qualified lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual people to the Obama administration.

The Issues

Like HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Marquez believes in leveraging market forces to improve housing sales and quality. She was one of the lead advocates of the low-income tax credit, a federal policy that rewards developers with a tax credit who include at least 20 percent low-income housing in their buildings. As head of the L.A. Housing Department, Marquez created a $100 million city acquisition fund to fill the financial gaps that keep developers from building low-income housing.

Marquez also emphasized accountability. In Los Angeles, she developed "Project Clean House," which identified underperforming development deals and developed strategies to get projects back on track.

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Stemming Foreclosures

In 2008, California suffered the most foreclosures in the country - nearly a quarter of American foreclosures occurred in the state. In Los Angeles, the rate grew by nearly 300 percent since 2007.

As head of the LAHD, Marquez was tasked with stabilizing the market. To do so, she established a foreclosure tracking system that allowed the city to target the worst-hit districts. The city planned to use $33 million to buy homes in struggling neighborhoods, rehabilitate them and then re-sell them to low-income families. The city will also provide mortgages to families who need them. "We want to bring real families into these neighborhoods, not more investors," Marquez told the Los Angeles Times.

She said that one of the positive long-term effects of the economic crisis was that inflated housing prices were dropping so that they are once again accessible to middle-class families.

Homelessness

In 2007, Marquez lobbied for the reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act, which funded a variety of homeless support programs. At HUD, she will be responsible for overseeing the measure's implementation. "The McKinney Homeless Assistance Act is an important tool for our local efforts to address homelessness," she said at a congressional hearing in 2007. "Most of the housing and services dollars that come to Los Angeles are not specifically tailored to combat homelessness. The exceptions are the funding provided through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grant for this reason, it is of critical importance."

In Los Angeles, Marquez dealt with a large chronically homeless population. Her experience has given her a clear understanding of how the federal government can best help cities. She supports earmarking funds for permanent housing for people with disabilities and coordination with the low-income housing tax-credit program, which provides credits to developers who set aside at least 20 percent of their housing for low-income residents.

The Network

In Los Angeles, Marquez worked closely with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. After Obama was elected, she partnered with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to develop a strategy to address the massive foreclosure rate in California. Obama appointed several other L.A. officials to top jobs, including former Deputy Mayor Arif Alikhan as assistant secretary for the White House Office of Policy Development and Deputy Mayor Nancy Sutley for the Office of Environmental Quality.

At HUD, Marquez will likely partner with Raphael Bostic, assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research. Marquez has said she plans on relying heavily on data to shape policy, and Bostic is charged with reforming the department's research arm.

Campaign Contributions

Marquez donated $750 to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Presidential campaign in February 2008.

Additional Resources