While its current CEO is on probation and under investigation for living in a public housing property under his management, the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority is being led by an interim CEO, ALXnow has confirmed.
Last month, ALXnow reported that ARHA CEO Erik Johnson was living in an ARHA property, prompting the Alexandria City Council to call for an independent investigation. ARHA has since confirmed that its Deputy Executive Director Rickie C. Maddox is currently working as the organization’s interim CEO.
“As previously stated, Mr. Johnson is on probation pending the outcome of the investigation,” ARHA told ALXnow in an email. “Ms. Maddox is operating in an interim CEO capacity during this time. Our focus continues to be on delivering the best possible service for our residents.”
Mayor Alyia Gaskins told ALXnow that the City Council has not been notified of this leadership change. On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Gaskins was frustrated that no ARHA commissioners or senior staff were in attendance at an ARHA Redevelopment Work Group meeting she chaired at City Hall.
“You can’t have these meetings and talk about partnerships if we’re not all at the table,” Gaskins said at the meeting.
Gaskins also said that the city has not received a response to its Freedom of Information Act requests seeking Johnson’s employment contract, all correspondence related to employee occupancy of ARHA units, records of any modifications to Johnson’s unit, and communications between ARHA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding the matter. The letter includes multiple requests and demanded responses by the close of business on Sept. 3.
The ARHA Board of Commissioners released a statement last month that Johnson “moved into an ARHA property without required approvals or knowledge by the Board” and ordered him to “vacate the property immediately.”
The controversy immediately followed tenant protests over poor conditions and delayed repairs at ARHA properties.
Maddox previously acted as interim CEO for nearly a year, from Nov. 2023 to Sept. 2024, when former CEO Keith Pettigrew left to serve as the executive director of the D.C. Housing Authority. Before that transition, she was ARHA’s chief compliance officer.
ARHA owns and operates more than 1,100 public housing properties in the city, and administers the Housing Choice Voucher program to more than 1,600 residents on other private properties in the city. As of February, there were more than 8,700 people on the waitlist for public housing, and 10,600 people on the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist, according to an ARHA presentation.
The ARHA Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 10, to discuss a personnel matter in executive session, followed by their regular monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 22.
