Alphonso R. Jackson (born September 9, 1945) served as the 13th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

[1] Jackson was born on September 9, 1945, in Marshall, Texas, and grew up in South Dallas as the youngest of 12 children in the family.

Active in both Democratic and Republican circles in the city for many years, he even ran for a spot as St. Louis's municipal revenue collector.

In 1989, Jackson was tapped to take over the Housing Authority of the City of Dallas as its president and chief executive officer.

In his seven years on the job, Jackson was credited with fixing the problems within the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) and improving conditions for the city's poorest residents, who turned to it for help in a time of need.

He managed to find funds for a commercial development project, for example, that brought the first supermarket back to a struggling West Dallas neighborhood in several years.

In 1995 the DHA began implementing a U.S. District Court order that came about after a mid-1980s challenge to desegregate the city's public-housing units.

[4] With a new Republican administration in the White House, Jackson was a likely contender for a federal appointment, especially since he had known George W. Bush, the former Texas governor, since 1989, when both lived in the same Dallas neighborhood.

In early 2001, Jackson's name was approved by Congress to serve as the deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a post that essentially made him second-in-command and chief operating officer of the cabinet department, working under HUD Secretary Mel Martínez.

[citation needed] Jackson stated, " HUD serves the nation best when all its programs are working effectively and efficiently.

GAO's removal of a high risk designation shines a bright light on our efforts over the past six years to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and well.

In 2003, the year before Jackson was named secretary, 14 percent—or $134 million—of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's contracts went to black-owned firms, officials say.

Jackson promoted such statistics, saying that "a good bottom line with small and minority businesses helps to build a stronger America."

3 Democrat in the House, said he believed the investigation was fueled by officials determined to derail Jackson's efforts to expand affirmative action.

"[21] In March 2008, The Washington Post reported on a series of emails in early 2007 between HUD assistant secretaries Kim Kendrick and Orlando J. Cabrera that suggested that HUD leadership sought to punish Carl R. Greene, the director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA).

[22][23] A federal judge later ruled for HUD that Jackson did not treat Philadelphia differently than other local housing agencies.

As a result, Jackson said, the bidder who had criticized Bush did not receive the contract: "Brother, you have a disconnect—the President is elected, I was selected.

"[27] In June 2008, Conde Nast Portfolio reported that Jackson, along with several other politicians and government officials, including former Cabinet Secretarys, Donna Shalala and Henry Cisneros, Senators Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad, United Nations Ambassador Richard Holbrooke had all received below-rate loans from Countrywide Financial as part of the company's "V.I.P."

One loan was issued to refinance Jackson's townhouse in Virginia, while another was for the purchase of a vacation home on a South Carolina golf course.

[28] According to the financial writer, David Fiderer, the source for the "Portfolio" magazine article, a former Countrywide employee, offered no written backup and made up some facts to bolster the story.

"[29] [30] The US Senate Select Committee on Ethics found in 2009 that there was "evidence on the record that the discounts offered to V.I.P.s and F.O.A.s were not the best deals that were available at Countrywide or in the marketplace at large."