HUD Secretary Resigns Under Fire

Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson is "stepping down" on April 18 after being dogged by allegations of using his office to help friends and Bush supporters as well as recent calls for his resignation by two senators that oversee the Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD officials said they didn't know whether the White House is ready to appoint Mr. Jackson's successor. Under normal circumstances, Deputy Secretary Roy Bernardi, a former mayor of Syracuse, N.Y, would be in line to become the acting secretary. At a HUD news conference, Mr. Jackson said he is stepping down to attend to "personal and family matters" and abruptly left the room without taking questions from the news media. In testifying before two Senate panels, the secretary refused to answer questions about a lawsuit by the Philadelphia housing authority, which alleges that HUD tried to punish the agency for refusing to sell land to one of Mr. Jackson's friends. Sens. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., called for the secretary's resignation on March 21 after he declined to answer questions about his conduct. At a time when the country is facing a national housing crisis, the "allegations of cronyism and favoritism against Secretary Jackson are a worsening distraction at HUD," Sen. Murray said. "It is time for Secretary Jackson to go." Sen. Murray chairs a HUD appropriations subcommittee.