UPDATE (Oct. 15, 7:35 p.m.): Alexandria City Council unanimously appointed six new commissioners to the ARHA board during an emergency special meeting Wednesday night, with three seats remaining open for future appointments. Read the full story here: Alexandria City Council appoints six new ARHA commissioners day after mass resignations
Eight of nine Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority commissioners resigned Tuesday in response to a demand from Mayor Alyia Gaskins and City Council that they step down by today’s deadline or face formal removal proceedings.
The mass resignations, delivered through attorney Ugo Colella of the law firm Colella Zefutie, came hours before Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, where Gaskins announced the departures after members emerged from a closed executive session.
“This afternoon we received a letter from an attorney representing eight of the nine Housing Authority commissioners,” Gaskins told the Council. “In that letter, all eight of the commissioners resigned from the ARHA board.”
In the resignation letter obtained by ALXnow, Colella wrote that the eight commissioners were “resigning as specifically requested by you and the City Council and for no other reason.”
Only Commissioner Kevin Harris, who represents the Alexandria Resident Council, refused to resign, according to the letter.
The departures leave the nine-member Board that oversees an agency managing more than 1,100 public housing units and serving over 2,700 residents through various programs with just one member. More than 19,000 people remain on waiting lists for housing assistance.
“These resignations constitute an emergency requiring the council to take immediate action to ensure the continuity of ARHA operations,” Gaskins said.
City Council will meet on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers to vote on an emergency ordinance amending the city code and make immediate appointments to the Board. The meeting is open to the public and will be available via Zoom and government Channel 70.
The mass resignations cap a contentious standoff between the City Council and the ARHA board that escalated dramatically on October 6. In an October 6 letter signed by Gaskins and all six other City Council members, the mayor demanded the resignations of all board members by Tuesday, threatening formal charges and removal proceedings if they refused.
“Recent actions by ARHA leadership have had significant consequences for ARHA, its tenants, and the City of Alexandria,” the mayor wrote in the letter obtained by ALXnow. “As a result of this, the City Council no longer has confidence in the Board.”
The Council’s letter accused the Board of multiple failures, including neglecting to oversee former CEO Erik Johnson, failing to address maintenance issues affecting residents’ health and safety, violating open meeting requirements, and causing “significant reputational harm to ARHA.”
“In recent months, it has become clear that the Board has neglected its duties and has been ineffective in leading this critical organization,” the mayor wrote. “This is apparent by the contingent of residents voicing serious, ongoing, and unaddressed maintenance issues affecting their health, welfare, and safety, as well as a continuing lack of responsiveness to remedy these issues by the Board and ARHA staff.”
The mayor’s letter cited Section 36-17 of the Code of Virginia and ARHA’s bylaws as the legal basis for removal, stating the failures “constitute a basis for removal” and “violate ARHA’s bylaws, which prohibit actions that may harm ARHA’s reputation.”
In their defiant response delivered Tuesday, the resigning commissioners pushed back forcefully against those allegations through their attorney, arguing the Board had “done everything that you and the City Council have requested concerning the CEO.”
“The Board took swift action to remove the Chief Executive Officer and hired a reputable outside law firm to investigate the matter, which concluded that the CEO had misbehaved,” Colella wrote. “You say that the Board ‘neglect[ed]’ its ‘duty,’ which is a false statement whose falsity would have been proven had you and/or the City Council agreed to meet with Board members to discuss the matter.”
The letter revealed a previously undisclosed crisis: several board members had actually resigned on September 4 “because they lacked faith in the City Council’s willingness to work and collaborate with the Board,” but rescinded those resignations after Gaskins “plead[ed] with the resigned members” to return on the condition that the Council work with them to resolve various issues.
“Unfortunately, neither you nor the City Council did so,” Colella wrote. The letter stated that “despite several requests, neither you nor the Council meaningfully responded” to board requests for meetings.
In response to questions from ALXnow late Tuesday night, Gaskins disputed the characterization that she refused to meet with board members, saying she had explained to ARHA board chair Anitra Androh that a meeting with five commissioners would violate open meetings laws.
“I received a request from the ARHA Chair of the Board requesting that I meet with her and four other board members,” Gaskins said in an email to ALXnow. “I informed her that a meeting with more than two ARHA commissioners where public business would be discussed must be done in an official public meeting; otherwise, it would be a violation of open meetings laws. Regulations such as these are precisely why we maintain a robust schedule of formal meetings to address critical ARHA business, including the ARHA/City Workgroup Meeting, held monthly. This format and commitment to conducting these conversations in a public setting are crucial to maintaining transparency and public trust. Unfortunately, none of the appointed Commissioners attended the most recent official meeting where these issues could have been addressed in regular order. I thank the past Commissioners for their service and look forward to working with my colleagues to chart a new path forward.”
The commissioners’ attorney sharply challenged the legal basis for the mayor and City Council’s accusations, arguing the Board lacks the authority the mayor claims it failed to exercise.
“You mention the operation and maintenance of units and assume that the Board somehow has authority to address and/or remedy these issues. It does not, and that would have been explained to you, and the Council had a Board-requested meeting,” Colella wrote. “The Board offered to share HUD board training modules with you and the Council in an effort to educate you on the Board’s limited authority according to HUD rules and regulations.”
The letter demanded that the mayor provide by noon on Friday evidence supporting six specific allegations, including all bylaws, statutes, or regulations empowering the Board to address or remedy maintenance issues; all evidence the Board neglected its duty to oversee the executive director; all evidence the Board caused reputational harm to ARHA; and all evidence the Board violated open meeting requirements.
“If we do not receive the information requested above at the prescribed deadline, we will assume that neither you nor the City Council has a good faith basis for the inflammatory allegations outlined in your October 6 letter,” Colella wrote.
The commissioners included a detailed addendum listing nine outstanding development projects and 17 operational improvements underway at ARHA. The list included a CEO search and a continued independent investigation by law firm Mintz Levin, both of which were “paused due to request for Board resignations.”
The addendum detailed extensive work underway, including exterior renovations at three properties, 100% unit inspections of all ARHA and non-ARHA units, remediation of units on 28th Street with resident relocations, interior upgrades in vacant units, implementation of property management processes, development of a resident handbook, and redesigning ARHA’s website.
“The Board consists of non-compensated volunteers appointed by you and the Council,” Colella wrote. “The Board has done its best to serve residents and staff of ARHA, and its concerns for the well-being of residents and staff of ARHA remain.”
The letter noted that the Board had “notified HUD of your and the Council’s request that the entire Board resign and has directed HUD to contact you going forward.”
The crisis escalated after the Board terminated Johnson on September 11, following an independent investigation into his unauthorized stay in a Cook Street public housing unit. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, it is a conflict of interest for a public housing agency director to live on property they manage.
Johnson, who was hired a year earlier and began work in September 2024, confirmed in an interview that he stayed in the property “temporarily while transitioning residences” for less than a month. He was placed on probation in late August after ALXnow first reported the unauthorized occupancy.
Rickie Maddox, who took over as acting CEO when Johnson was placed on probation, continues in the interim role.
The board members listed on ARHA’s website include Chairwoman Anitra Androh, Vice Chairman Willie F. Bailey Sr., and commissioners Peter Kleeblatt, Christopher Ballard, Michelle Krocker, Brad Duncan, Reid Mene, Kevin Harris, and Rizwan Chaudry.
To appoint new commissioners immediately, Council must amend sections 2-4-7B and C of the city code, which currently require a 21-day public advertisement period for all open committee and board seats and mandate that applications be filed at least 7 days before appointments are considered.
According to a notice sent to residents Tuesday night, the emergency ordinance formally declares that the October 14 resignations “constitute an emergency requiring the City Council to take immediate action to ensure the continuity of ARHA operations.”
The emergency ordinance will add language allowing Council to waive public notice requirements “in the event of a need to address time-sensitive or emergency appointment(s).” The ordinance states that “the nature of the circumstances requiring a waiver must be stated on the record prior to the city council making such appointment(s) and shall be recorded in the minutes.”
“There is no provision in the code accounting for emergencies such as this, where a 21-day delay would not be in the public’s interest,” a council member said during Tuesday’s meeting.
City Council appoints the eight-member citizen contingent to the Board for staggered terms. The ninth member, who must be a public housing resident, represents the Alexandria Resident Council. Without a functioning board of commissioners, the housing authority could face significant challenges in making policy decisions and overseeing its programs.
The controversy began in August when ALXnow first reported Johnson had lived in the public housing unit in July without board approval. Gaskins and City Council member John Taylor Chapman called for an investigation, and the Board hired Mintz Levin to conduct an independent review.
In her August letter to the Board, Gaskins called for an independent investigation into Johnson’s actions, ARHA’s compliance with applicable laws, and the authority’s finances. “Mr. Johnson’s actions raise significant questions about governance and accountability at ARHA,” Gaskins wrote. “His actions also threaten to undermine public confidence in ARHA at a time when the need to ensure that all Alexandrians have access to safe and affordable housing is at an all-time high.”
The controversy erupted as ARHA already faced scrutiny from tenants who had protested poor conditions and delayed repairs at properties. City Council submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests seeking Johnson’s employment contract, correspondence related to employee occupancy of ARHA units, and communications with HUD regarding the matter.
ARHA owns and operates more than 1,100 public housing properties in Alexandria and administers the Housing Choice Voucher program to more than 1,600 residents in private properties citywide. As of February, more than 8,700 people were on the public housing waitlist, with another 10,600 on the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist.
Wednesday’s special meeting will focus solely on the ARHA emergency, with Council expected to vote on both the code amendment and new board appointments during the same session. The emergency ordinance will take effect “upon the date and at the time of its final passage.”
This is a developing story.
