Barack Obama is creating the first Office of Urban Policy. What are the top priorities?

White House to Establish Office of Urban Policy

By Al Kamen
The intense back-stabbing amongst Democrats for top jobs in the Obama administration assumes there are a fixed number of jobs worth having. But it’s looking likely that some extremely choice, even consequential, jobs are going to be created by the new administration.

For example, plans are underway to establish a White House Office of Urban Policy in order to better coordinate federal efforts to help America’s cities, according to Obama transition co-chair Valerie Jarrett.

«He’s going to have a White House chief of urban policy,» Jarrett told the Trotter Group, an organization of black columnists.

She declined to divulge any names of potential choices for the post. «I’m sure there are plenty of candidates. It’s a great job,» Jarrett said.

Despite the many national problems confronting the new administration, she continued, Obama remains committed to earlier pledges to establish such an office. «Because he began as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, he understands at the local level is really where you can impact change and that local government can play a vital role as we try to jump start our economy,» she said. «So having somebody in the White House, because there are so many different agencies that really can impact urban America and to have one person whose job it is to really pull all of that together, is really a critical position. And there are plenty of terrific candidates for that spot.»

The Washigton Post

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