How do you say goodbye to a HUD chief who ineptly presided over the worst national housing crisis in recent memory, who made HUD a byword for cronyism, and who resigned under the cloud of a federal criminal investigation?
Last Wednesday, Alphonso Jackson got the send off he deserved, as you can see from the cover of the program for the event obtained by TPMmuckraker. The event, which was held in the main auditorium at HUD, included an overflow crowd of about 1,000 HUD employees, said HUD spokesman Jerry Brown. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was the special guest speaker at the event, Brown said.
Despite the regal appearance of the program, Brown said that the event mainly involved “a slide show and a person who sang the national anthem.” It was “pretty much the standard fare when a secretary departs.” You can bet that the slide show contained plenty of pictures of Jackson — and maybe even a painting or two.
You can see the full program here.