Shaun Donovan

Shaun Donovan

Prior offices

U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

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Elections and appointments

Last election

June 22, 2021

Education

Bachelor's

Harvard University

Graduate

Harvard University

Shaun Donovan was the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Donovan assumed office in 2009. Donovan left office in 2014.

Donovan (Democratic Party) ran for election for Mayor of New York. Donovan lost in the Democratic primary on June 22, 2021.

Donovan previously served as the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget under the Obama administration. He was confirmed by the Senate on July 10, 2014, by a vote of 75-22. Donovan stepped down as HUD secretary on July 9, 2014, allowing Julián Castro to step in. Donovan then replaced Sylvia Mathews Burwell as OMB director.

Donovan also served in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton administration and was New York City's Housing Commissioner prior to becoming the secretary of housing and urban development.

Biography

Donovan was born in New York City. He studied engineering at Harvard University. He continued at Harvard, earning a master of architecture degree and a master of public administration degree in 1995. He served in two presidential administrations with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), advised President Obama's presidential campaign, and served as the Housing Commissioner in New York City.

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Donovan's academic, professional, and political career:

• 2014-2017: Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget
• 2009-2014: U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• 2008: Adviser on Barack Obama's presidential campaign
• 2004-2008: Housing Commissioner for New York City
• 2002-2004: Director of Prudential Mortgage Capital Company's FHA initiatives
• 2001-2002: Visiting Scholar at New York University
• 1998-2001: Appointed to the HUD by President Bill Clinton
• 1995-1998: Worked for the Community Preservation Corporation
• 1995: Earned M.A. and M.P.A. from Harvard University
• 1987: Graduated from Harvard University

2021 battleground election

See also: Mayoral election in New York, New York (2021)

Eric Adams (D), Curtis Sliwa (R), and eight other candidates ran in the general election for mayor of New York City on November 2, 2021. Incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) did not run for re-election due to term limits.

The primary election on June 22, 2021, featured the first use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) for a mayoral primary in the city's history. Click here to read more about how ranked-choice voting works.

The top issues in the Democratic primary were crime, policing, affordable housing, jobs, and healthcare. Click here to learn more about the Democratic primary.

De Blasio was first elected in 2013 and won re-election in 2017 with 66% of the vote. Including de Blasio, four of the previous six mayors were Democrats.

Elections

2021

See also: Mayoral election in New York, New York (2021)

General election

General election for Mayor of New York

The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of New York on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Adams (D)	67.0	753,801
		Curtis Sliwa (R / Independent Party)	27.8	312,385
		Catherine Rojas (Party for Socialism and Liberation)	2.5	27,982
		William Pepitone (Conservative Party)	1.1	12,575
		Quanda Francis (Empowerment Party)	0.3	3,792
		Stacey Prussman (L)	0.3	3,189
		Raja Flores (Humanity United Party)	0.2	2,387
		Fernando Mateo (Save Our City Party)	0.2	1,870
		Skiboky Stora (Out Lawbreaker Party)	0.0	264
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	7,013

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,125,258
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Vitaly Filipchenko (Independent)
• Deborah Axt (Working Families Party)
• Christopher Krietchman (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic Primary for Mayor of New York

Select round: Round 8 Round 7 Round 6 Round 5 Round 4 Round 3 Round 2 Round 1

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Eric Adams in round 8 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	50.4	404,513	49,856	Advanced (8)
		Kathryn Garcia	49.6	397,316	130,384	8
		Maya Wiley	0.0	0	-254,728	8
		Andrew Yang	0.0	0	0	7
		Raymond McGuire	0.0	0	0	6
		Dianne Morales	0.0	0	0	6
		Scott Stringer	0.0	0	0	6
		Shaun Donovan	0.0	0	0	5
		Art Chang	0.0	0	0	4
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.0	0	0	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.0	0	0	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.0	0	0	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	40.5	354,657	37,565	Advanced (8)
		Kathryn Garcia	30.5	266,932	43,298	8
		Maya Wiley	29.1	254,728	15,554	8
		Andrew Yang	0.0	0	-135,686	7
		Raymond McGuire	0.0	0	0	6
		Dianne Morales	0.0	0	0	6
		Scott Stringer	0.0	0	0	6
		Shaun Donovan	0.0	0	0	5
		Art Chang	0.0	0	0	4
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.0	0	0	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.0	0	0	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.0	0	0	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	34.6	317,092	21,294	Advanced (8)
		Maya Wiley	26.1	239,174	30,066	8
		Kathryn Garcia	24.4	223,634	31,758	8
		Andrew Yang	14.8	135,686	14,089	7
		Scott Stringer	0.0	0	-56,723	6
		Dianne Morales	0.0	0	-30,933	6
		Raymond McGuire	0.0	0	-27,934	6
		Shaun Donovan	0.0	0	0	5
		Art Chang	0.0	0	0	4
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.0	0	0	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.0	0	0	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.0	0	0	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	31.7	295,798	3,992	Advanced (8)
		Maya Wiley	22.4	209,108	3,095	8
		Kathryn Garcia	20.5	191,876	5,145	8
		Andrew Yang	13.0	121,597	3,589	7
		Scott Stringer	6.1	56,723	3,124	6
		Dianne Morales	3.3	30,933	776	6
		Raymond McGuire	3.0	27,934	1,573	6
		Shaun Donovan	0.0	0	-24,042	5
		Art Chang	0.0	0	0	4
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.0	0	0	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.0	0	0	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.0	0	0	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	31.2	291,806	1,751	Advanced (8)
		Maya Wiley	22.0	206,013	4,495	8
		Kathryn Garcia	19.9	186,731	2,062	8
		Andrew Yang	12.6	118,008	2,506	7
		Scott Stringer	5.7	53,599	1,648	6
		Dianne Morales	3.2	30,157	3,512	6
		Raymond McGuire	2.8	26,361	943	6
		Shaun Donovan	2.6	24,042	728	5
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.0	0	-7,819	4
		Art Chang	0.0	0	-7,093	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.0	0	-4,060	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.0	0	-2,780	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.0	0	0	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	30.8	290,055	452	Advanced (8)
		Maya Wiley	21.4	201,518	325	8
		Kathryn Garcia	19.6	184,669	98	8
		Andrew Yang	12.3	115,502	201	7
		Scott Stringer	5.5	51,951	101	6
		Dianne Morales	2.8	26,645	111	6
		Raymond McGuire	2.7	25,418	146	6
		Shaun Donovan	2.5	23,314	125	5
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.8	7,819	61	4
		Art Chang	0.8	7,093	29	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.4	4,060	53	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.3	2,780	97	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.0	0	-2,254	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	30.8	289,603	200	Advanced (8)
		Maya Wiley	21.4	201,193	66	8
		Kathryn Garcia	19.6	184,571	108	8
		Andrew Yang	12.2	115,301	171	7
		Scott Stringer	5.5	51,850	72	6
		Dianne Morales	2.8	26,534	39	6
		Raymond McGuire	2.7	25,272	30	6
		Shaun Donovan	2.5	23,189	22	5
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.8	7,758	16	4
		Art Chang	0.8	7,064	16	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.4	4,007	43	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.3	2,683	21	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.2	2,254	12	3

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Eric Adams	30.7	289,403	0	Advanced (8)
		Maya Wiley	21.4	201,127	0	8
		Kathryn Garcia	19.6	184,463	0	8
		Andrew Yang	12.2	115,130	0	7
		Scott Stringer	5.5	51,778	0	6
		Dianne Morales	2.8	26,495	0	6
		Raymond McGuire	2.7	25,242	0	6
		Shaun Donovan	2.5	23,167	0	5
		Aaron Foldenauer	0.8	7,742	0	4
		Art Chang	0.7	7,048	0	4
		Paperboy Prince	0.4	3,964	0	4
		Joycelyn Taylor	0.3	2,662	0	4
		Isaac Wright Jr.	0.2	2,242	0	3
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	0.2	1,568	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 942,031
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Loree Sutton (D)
• Carlos Menchaca (D)
• Barbara Kavovit (D)
• Edward Cullen (D)
• Max Rose (D)
• Zachary Iscol (D)

Republican primary election

Republican Primary for Mayor of New York

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Curtis Sliwa in round 1 .

		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
		Curtis Sliwa	67.9	40,794	0	Advanced (1)
		Fernando Mateo	27.8	16,721	0	1
		Undeclared Write-insUndeclared write-in candidates may advance past the first round in some ranked-choice elections. If the official source reports write-in votes by candidate name, Ballotpedia displays them alongside the ballot-qualified candidates. However, if write-in votes are reported without a name, they will instead be included in the total write-in votes figure in Round 1. Please consult the official elections source for more details about unnamed write-in candidate vote totals past Round 1.	4.2	2,536	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 60,051
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sara Tirschwell (R)

Conservative Party primary election

The Conservative Party primary election was canceled. William Pepitone advanced from the Conservative Party primary for Mayor of New York.

Working Families Party primary election

The Working Families Party primary election was canceled. Deborah Axt advanced from the Working Families Party primary for Mayor of New York.

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shaun Donovan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Donovan's campaign website stated the following:

“	In preparing this plan, we took as a starting point the simple notion that as we rebuilt from this crisis, we couldn’t settle for what New York City was before. We believe that New York can come back as a stronger, fairer, more equitable, more innovative city that works for everyone and gives each resident a chance to build a healthy, happy life. The plan elements included in this book are meant to provide a holistic, detailed picture of that New York—not the one we had before, but the one we should strive to create. The policies outlined below and across this book are the result of a year-long effort to combine Shaun’s decades of government experience and policy knowledge with the guidance of over a hundred community advocates, scholars, business leaders, and policy experts from across the city and country. This edition of the Donovan Plan is organized by issue area—including Racial Equity, Health, Neighborhoods, Transportation, Jobs, Education, Criminal Justice, Housing, Aging, Climate, and Innovation—with a number of platforms still in development, including Arts & Culture, Immigration, Food Security, and LGBTQ issues. The topic areas often refer to one another, forming bridges between sometimes seemingly disparate issues and calling attention to the cohesion that our city’s efforts must display if we hope to truly solve the problems that plague so many of our communities. In this way, they should be viewed not as separate pieces in a puzzle, but rather voices in conversation, responding to, commenting on, and building upon one another. They are a reflection of the ongoing discussion we aim to have with the people of this city. View the Plan	”
—Shaun for NYC

Confirmation votes

Director of the Office of Management and Budget

Donovan was confirmed as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget by the Senate on July 10, 2014, by a vote of 75-22.

Shaun Donovan confirmation vote, July 10, 2014
Party	Votes for a	Votes against d	Total votes
Democrats	50	0	50
Republicans	23	22	45
Independents	2	0	2
Total Votes	75	22	97

U.S. secretary of housing and urban development

Donovan was confirmed as the secretary of housing and Uuban development by the Senate on January 22, 2009, by voice vote.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Donovan is married with two children.

See also

2021 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Sylvia Mathews Burwell	Director of the Office of Management and Budget 2014-2017	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Steve Preston	U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 2009-2014	Succeeded by Julián Castro