Julián Castro’s new job won’t mean a move
Julián Castro was in San Francisco this week for a big announcement — his new job as CEO of the nation’s largest Latino-serving foundation.
It raises huge sums to invest in Latino-serving institutions and for sizable voter mobilization efforts in California.
If you haven’t heard of the San Francisco-based Latino Community Foundation yet, you’re about to hear a lot more.
But if your first thought is that this will mean the former mayor of San Antonio, former Obama administration Cabinet member and MSNBC fill-in anchor and contributor is moving to California, he’s here to tell you he’s not.
Castro, the son of two notable San Antonio Chicano activists and the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, will continue to run around Woodlawn Lake and reside in District 7, which he represented on City Council.
That’s an intentional decision.
Castro shares custody of his two children — Carina and Cristián, one in high school, the other in elementary school — and plans to continue to co-parent them.
This may strike some people as the buried lead. The fact is his divorce has been nothing if not obvious.
Castro and his ex-wife, Erica Lira, separated in early spring.
Neither spoke of it to journalists like me, though I tried.
They weren’t alone in mourning the end of their marriage. People seemed to speak of it in hushed tones. In between the lines were kindnesses and respect.
By fall, the couple had divorced after 16 years of marriage.
The good news is both are dating now, happily, it seems.
When I caught up with Castro about his new job, he was in San Francisco for the big announcement and to attend the LCF’S last board meeting of the year.
It was the final one for outgoing CEO Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, who raised more than $100 million for the foundation during her tenure.
“I’ll work at keeping up that momentum,” he said.
But he undoubtedly has a big act to follow.
Castro starts his new job Jan. 1 and will do a lot of traveling throughout California at the onset.
His hiring was a unanimous decision.
It all began about three months ago when a CEO search firm approached Castro.
“It wasn’t a big stretch once they reached out,” he said.
“I love the mission of the Latino Community Foundation. Over the years, I noticed how effective the organization has been in mobilizing voters and investing in Latino organizations.”
Castro sees the job as part of a larger national effort. The Latino population is growing at such rates that its future interlocks with the country’s.
One’s success ensures the other’s, especially in states like
California, Texas and Florida.
But Latinos are everywhere now, Castro added.
For the nation to succeed, its Latino population needs investments of all kinds — educational and economic, in the job force and affordable housing — from age 1 to 100.
The Latino Community Foundation created the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the country, Castro said.
That’s a start. Though the LCF is nonpartisan, its goals include mobilizing, informing and encouraging Latino voters to participate.
Voting — informed voting — will be key to Latinos’ future.
Besides running at Woodlawn Lake Park, Castro has been busy since his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2019, dropping out the following year and endorsing Elizabeth Warren instead of President Joe Biden.
It was a letdown for supporters
that he didn’t get a post in the Biden administration. Some have blamed that on Castro’s ageism comment about Biden at a 2019 Democratic presidential debate.
It stung but didn’t change his storyline, one that continues to be an inspiring family story.
With his twin U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-san Antonio, they earned degrees at Stanford and Harvard universities, fulfilling an American dream.
Their mother, Rosie Castro, was on the front line of many educational and electoral struggles to win just outcomes. She ran for City Council when a Mexican American couldn’t win in discriminatory at-large elections.
Their father, Jesse Guzman, became a schoolteacher on the West Side and continued to be politically active. Both took part in a wave of activism that changed San Antonio for good.
Earlier this year, when Rosie Castro served out an unexpired term in District 7, a seat that her son Julián once held, justice made a full circle.
“That’s why this has very special meaning for me,” Castro said about his new job. “It’s a full-circle moment.
“My mom dedicated her entire adulthood to improving Latino well-being. I grew up understanding the importance of serving others and helping the Latino community prosper. That’s what the Latino Community Foundation is about.”
Castro says he’ll face a “big learning curve” as CEO but will lean on its strong leadership team and continue to grow LCF’S investment in Latino communities “in California and beyond California.
“We will be thoughtful” about the latter, he said, and look at states with large Latino populations as well as smaller communities.
The biggest question about his future is whether Castro will ever run for office again.
“I don’t have any plans,” he said Wednesday, but no one can say never.
Castro plans to spend “a good amount of time in San Francisco, L.A. and the Central Valley, a good amount of time every month. I’ll be on the road a lot.”
But he’ll be home, too. His employment agreement says he’ll be based in San Antonio, he said. He’ll continue to fill in occasionally at MSNBC.
“I will continue to use my voice to promote the well-being and advancement of Latinos and our larger community,” he said. “I’m excited about this part of my life. This new journey.”
2024 will be a big year in Castro’s life. Not in the least because he and his twin brother will turn 50 next September.