Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Top Bloomberg, Obama Housing Official Launches Mayoral Bid
By
Sophia Chang
Published Dec 8, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Sophia Chang
Published Dec 8, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The former head of housing for Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially declared his candidacy for Mayor of New York City Tuesday, touting his experience at the federal level serving in the Obama administration.
Shaun Donovan served as Bloomberg’s Commissioner of the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development from 2004 to 2009. He went on to serve as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 2009 to 2014 and Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 2014 to 2017.
Donovan’s campaign relies heavily on his experience in the Obama administration, with his website prominently featuring photos of Obama and detailing his work for the president. His history as the city’s top housing official with the Bloomberg administration is less highlighted (and no photos of the former mayor appear on the website).
In an August interview with Gotham Gazette’s Max and Murphy podcast, Donovan pointed to his role in directing investment in the city’s public housing with the 2009 federal Recovery Act and lowering homelessness rates during his tenure. His campaign now promises to move from the city’s existing “right to shelter” to a “right to housing,” through “maintaining emergency housing resources and creating an improved system of emergency rental assistance to help people stay housed when facing economic setbacks.”
According to his campaign website, other priorities include climate change and “achieving net-zero emissions” while touting Donovan’s experience leading the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force for Obama. With the city’s economy devastated by the pandemic, Donovan’s campaign website said he plans to harness the city’s “powerful new commercial centers—on the West Side of Manhattan, in Midtown South, along the Brooklyn waterfront, among many others” for economic revival, though he acknowledges “the benefits of this growth have not accrued to everyone equally.” If elected, he plans to launch a jobs corps with apprenticeships in conjunction with the Department of Education and CUNY.
Donovan filed his paperwork for the mayor’s seat back in February, according to reports. A Park Slope resident, it is his first official run for elected office. Before joining the Bloomberg administration, Donovan, 54, was also deputy assistant secretary of HUD under President Clinton and worked in the private sector at Prudential Mortgage Capital, overseeing FHA lending and affordable housing investments.
Former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia and non-profit social services executive Dianne Morales have also recently declared their candidacies for the mayor's office, which Mayor Bill de Blasio will vacate next year after being term-limited out.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer, former de Blasio legal counsel Maya Wiley, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, and financial executive Ray McGuire are also officially running. The first financial disclosure filings are due next week.
Tagged
Housing and Preservation Development
Housing and Urban Development
election 2021
shaun donovan
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
South Bronx Legionnaires' disease outbreak declared over, following 2 deaths
City health officials said the source of the outbreak has been eliminated.
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Sep 30, 2026 at 3:32 p.m. ET
NYC subway boss says man dragged to death by train was 'unsteady' and used a cane
MTA officials are investigating exactly how the 57-year-old man was dragged by the train.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
NYC subway boss says man dragged to death by train was 'unsteady' and used a cane
MTA officials are investigating exactly how the 57-year-old man was dragged by the train.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
NJ county, towns file lawsuit to stop noisy NYC sightseeing helicopters
By
Michael Sol Warren
MTA says Trump's tariffs added $1B to cost of NYC's new train cars, buses
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
New York City says the World Cup delivered a $2B boost to its economy
By
Catalina Gonella
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .