Why Julián Castro's Record as Mayor of San Antonio Doesn't Necessarily Tell Us Much About His Future at HUD

Julián Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, is said to be joining President Barack Obama's cabinet as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). That may or may not be a boon for national housing policy, or smart for Castro's broader political aspirations.

Castro has been a central figure in San Antonio politics for nearly as long as the San Antonio Spurs have been really good at basketball. He was elected to the City Council in 2001 at age 26, making him the youngest Council member in the city's history. After two consecutive two-year terms, he narrowly lost a bid for mayor in 2005. He won the mayor's seat in 2009, then won re-election twice by wide margins, gaining 82.9 percent of the vote in 2011 and 67 percent of the vote in 2013 (a contest in which he did not face a serious challenger).