The AP reports that President Bush plans to name Steven Preston as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, replacing the disgraced Alphonso Jackson. Preston comes to HUD from chief of the Small Business Administration (SBA). When he was appointed to SBA, Preston had no “experience running a small business,” previously serving as a senior vice president of ServiceMaster, a “multibillion-dollar corporation.” BusinessWeek reported in April 2006:
As executive vice-president, strategic services of Illinois-based ServiceMaster, which operates popular home service brands such as Merry Maids, Terminix, and TruGreen ChemLawn, Preston oversees the company’s long-term planning and technology systems, among other areas.
The nominee has also likely strengthened his ties to the Bush Administration during his time there. A self-described “committed Republican,” Preston worked at ServiceMaster while Claire Buchan, currently the chief of staff for Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, was a vice-president for communications at the company. [...]
[H]is resume shows he has no experience as an entrepreneur and comes from a company with a reputation as a bully among some small-business owners.
Preston is known as a “Bush loyalist,” BusinessWeek added.
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