Cisneros keynote speaker at HEP April 5
By CHRIS BARBEE cbarbee@leader-news.com

HENRY CISNEROS

A San Antonio native who made a huge impact on his city and in Washington will be guest speaker April 5 at the 16th Annual Hispanic Education Banquet.

Henry Cisneros, former mayor of the Alamo City, and later Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration, will be the keynote speaker at the banquet held each year to raise college scholarship money for Hispanic seniors.

Cisneros currently serves as executive chairman of the CityView companies, which fund homebuilders across the nation to create homes priced within the range of average families. CityView is a partner in building more than 40 communities in 12 states, incorporating more than 7,000 homes with a value of over $2 billion.

After serving three terms as a San Antonio city council member, in 1981 Cisneros became the first Hispanic- American mayor of a major U.S. city. During his four terms as mayor, he helped rebuild the city's economic base and spurred the creation of jobs through massive infrastructure and downtown improvements, marking San Antonio as one of the nation's most progressive cities.

In 1984, Cisneros was interviewed by the Democratic Presidential nominee as a possible candidate for vice president of the United States and in 1986 was selected as the "Outstanding Mayor" in the nation by City and State Magazine. A scholarly study of America's mayors, The American Mayor, ranked Cisneros as one of the 15 best mayors in the nation in a period that spanned the 20th Century.

He continued his public service when, in 1992, President Clinton appointed him Secretary of HUD. He is credited with initiating the revitalization of many of the nation's public housing developments, with formulating policies which contributed to achieving the nation's highest ever homeownership rate, and with upgrading the nation's strategies to reduce homelessness.

After leaving HUD in 1997, Cisneros became president and chief operating officer of Univision Communications, the Spanish-language broadcaster which has become the fifth-most-watched television network in the nation. He currently serves on Univision's Board of Directors.

In June 2007 Cisneros was inducted into the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) "Builders Hall of Fame" and was honored by the National Housing Conference as the "Housing Person of the Year."

Tickets and tables to the April 5 banquet are still available by calling Mary Arredondo at 543-7855 or 541-6271, or Andrew Garza at 543-2218 or 332-1511.

Gold tables are $250; reserved tables are $150.