The D.C. Council decided not to pursue any legislative action on behalf of the D.C. Housing Authority’s board of directors at its Tuesday session.
Council Chair Phil Mendelson backs the overhauling of the board due to a Department of Housing and Urban Development report released two months ago that is critical of the board.
Last week, Mendelson, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large), who chairs the Committee on Housing and Executive Administration, announced they supported a plan that places eight new members on the board operating as a stabilizing force.
The new board will be operational for three years and file quarterly reports on its activities. Critics of the plans said it is a power grab on behalf of the Bowser administration and the new board didn’t include enough representation for tenants and low-income residents.
As a result of the criticism, Mendelson said some council members didn’t feel comfortable moving forward, so he tabled the measure until the next legislative meeting on Dec. 20.
“Well, if we don’t replace it, then we are left with the status quo,” Mendelson said, WTOP reported. “And that status quo is not going to help us get out of the current problems, even crisis, that the housing authority is suffering from.”
