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Mayor Joe Jaworski, along with newly appointed GHA Commissioner Paula Neff and GHA Executive Director Harish Krishnarao, traveled to Washington D.C. to meet federal housing officials to discuss housing needs for Galveston and the allocation of disaster-recovery money. As a part of this trip, the Mayor had a meeting with HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan. Mayor Jaworski conveyed to the HUD Secretary not only the importance of Galveston’s recovery from Hurricane Ike, but also its goal of becoming a model for the twenty-first century. Secretary Donovan reaffirmed his support to the GHA, the new mayor and to Galveston’s recovery.

The Galveston delegation met with representatives from the Community Planning and Development (CPD), who are in charge of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds that are allocated to assist Galveston in planning and recovery efforts. The mayor was able to impress upon CPD the need for increased CDBG funds in proportion to damage that Hurricane Ike caused in Galveston. The Galveston team was appreciative of all of HUD’s assistance and invited Assistant Secretary Marquez to visit Galveston in August.

The meetings held in Washington D.C. by the Mayor and GHA will benefit the City of Galveston as a whole as a united front is presented on the issue of housing needs in Galveston.