Henry Cisneros

Frank del Olmo (Commentary, Dec. 15) states that Henry Cisneros' indictment "is much ado about something that isn't as important as it looks right now." His column is disturbing in the way it tries to compare Cisneros' indictment with that of other former Cabinet members in a way that resembles the current fraud that has overtaken the White House in its fund-raising, with "we didn't do anything that everybody isn't doing, including the Republicans." Del Olmo is correct in elaborating Cisneros' past accomplishments, but unfortunately he seems to be condoning his more recent transgressions.

Countrywide Financial Corp. said Henry Cisneros, a former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, had quit its board of directors. Cisneros notified Countrywide of his resignation in an Oct. 18 letter, saying he was leaving to spend more time as chairman of CityView, which provides financing to U.S. home builders. In a statement, Cisneros called Countrywide a "well-managed company" and said he had "enormous confidence" in its leadership.

I read the article about Henry Cisneros, expecting at any moment to find a denial, excuse or historical revision ("Henry Cisneros," by Dana Calvo, June 24). What a pleasant surprise to read that Cisneros has accepted responsibility for, and been humbled by, his mistake. Calvo is dead-on when she states that "American politics today requires complete shamelessness." Cisneros shows that he knows right from wrong, which disqualifies him from any future in politics. I wish him and his family the best.

With Southern California's population expected to soar over the next 20 years, local leaders must focus on "recycling" old neighborhoods to develop more housing to help meet the growing demand, former U.S. Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros said Thursday in a speech at Cal State Channel Islands.

A year ago, I stuck my neck out by predicting that the federal indictment of Henry G. Cisneros, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, would amount to little in the long run. I was proved right last week, when Cisneros copped a plea in a Washington, D.C., courtroom, agreeing to pay a $10,000 fine on a single misdemeanor count in exchange for dismissal of the 18 felony charges he faced. But this column is not to say "I told you so." It is to ponder Cisneros' future.

Henry G. Cisneros, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is standing in a muddy tent city in the San Fernando Valley, talking to a TV reporter. It is Week 2 of post-earthquake reality in Los Angeles, and the secretary has been in town for most of the aftershocks, doing what he clearly likes to do best: turn the wheels of Big Government. His sleeves are rolled up, his collar is open, and his hands are tucked inside the pockets of a khaki jacket.

They might have made quite a pair, the big-haired blond Anglo fund-raiser and the elegant Latino mayor with the presidential ambitions, but they never got a chance to show it off. Now in her mid 40s, Linda Medlar can still don a deep purple suit and make it work, but since her celebrated love affair with then-San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros made headlines six years ago, she has lost her career, lost her husband and, she said, lost her self-respect.

Countrywide Financial Corp. said Henry Cisneros, a former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development, had quit its board of directors. Cisneros notified Countrywide of his resignation in an Oct. 18 letter, saying he was leaving to spend more time as chairman of CityView, which provides financing to U.S. home builders. In a statement, Cisneros called Countrywide a "well-managed company" and said he had "enormous confidence" in its leadership.

Dozens of Montebello third-graders met one of their heroes Tuesday as Henry Cisneros--former Clinton administration secretary of Housing and Urban Development--shared inspiring words with students who recently honored him with a personalized poem. Rosie Becerra Davies' class at Washington Elementary interviewed Cisneros about his job as president of Univision Communications, parent company of the nation's largest Spanish-language television network.

How in the name of all that is right can Sen. Dianne Feinstein declare the California Desert Protection Act as her earliest top priority (Jan. 21)? Hasn't she heard or seen of the other "desert" in California; the economic desert in South-Central Los Angeles? Why would she ignore this and choose to support a desert act that will cost $600 million, and benefit so few? Wouldn't $600 million be better spent in the economic desert in Los Angeles on job training, better parks and recreation programs, more factories, better police, fire, and community services to the citizens of Los Angeles?

I read the article about Henry Cisneros, expecting at any moment to find a denial, excuse or historical revision ("Henry Cisneros," by Dana Calvo, June 24). What a pleasant surprise to read that Cisneros has accepted responsibility for, and been humbled by, his mistake. Calvo is dead-on when she states that "American politics today requires complete shamelessness." Cisneros shows that he knows right from wrong, which disqualifies him from any future in politics. I wish him and his family the best.

Long after the original target of his investigation copped a plea to a misdemeanor charge, independent counsel David Barrett remains in business. No longer investigating former housing secretary Henry Cisneros, Barrett is focusing on whether anyone in the Clinton administration attempted to obstruct his Cisneros probe. Barrett is the only independent counsel still in the midst of an active grand jury investigation.

Henry Gabriel Cisneros walks briskly across a 200-acre lot that was once a wooded area infested with rattlesnakes and a few aspiring arsonists. On this blustery afternoon in San Antonio, the wind howls across the freshly razed plain as he heads for a large white tent. Time has not softened his unmistakable oval face and elongated nose.

The tired-out neighborhoods and strip malls in the county's forgotten unincorporated pockets have captured the imagination of Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad. The first-term supervisor is leading a push to revitalize--mostly with private dollars--the sagging neighborhoods. In an effort to come up with something concrete, Coad has targeted a Brookhurst Street strip mall and a nearby neighborhood, both plunked in an unincorporated area in the middle of Anaheim.

Frank del Olmo is precisely right (Commentary, Sept. 12). L.A. needs Henry Cisneros' leadership. Let us briefly review his political career. After being elected mayor of San Antonio, he carried on a public and humiliating extramarital affair. He then went on to become secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and anyone who deals with that department knows that it is the same corrupt, disorganized mess it has always been. In order to contain the damage of his public affair, he made cash gifts to his mistress.

A year ago, I stuck my neck out by predicting that the federal indictment of Henry G. Cisneros, the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development, would amount to little in the long run. I was proved right last week, when Cisneros copped a plea in a Washington, D.C., courtroom, agreeing to pay a $10,000 fine on a single misdemeanor count in exchange for dismissal of the 18 felony charges he faced. But this column is not to say "I told you so." It is to ponder Cisneros' future.

Even as he tried to avoid political embarrassment that could have derailed his nomination to President Clinton's Cabinet, Henry G. Cisneros was unknowingly walking into a future legal morass. In late 1992 and early 1993, not knowing that his private phone conversations with his former mistress were being recorded, Cisneros assured her that he would continue to support her with regular payments.

For the last two years, Sylvia Arce-Garcia and John Rosales have had their lives on hold. The two aides to Henry Cisneros came here from Texas in 1993 when the ex-San Antonio mayor was named secretary of Housing and Urban Development.