Pittsburgh\u2019s Housing Authority board unanimously approved hiring a new executive director Thursday, despite an ongoing ethics investigation involving her in Oregon.<\/p>\n
Ivory N. Mathews will take the helm Oct. 1, the day after outgoing Executive Director Caster D. Binion retires. He has led the agency since 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all very confident in Ivory Mathews\u2019 ability to take the reins here and take the next step,\u201d board chair Wasi Mohamed said after the vote.<\/p>\n
Mathews could not immediately be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
Board members did not ask questions or hold discussion prior to the vote. There was no mention during Thursday\u2019s meeting of the probe in Oregon.<\/p>\n
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission in August voted to investigate Mathews, who previously led Home Forward, a housing authority serving Multnomah County, Ore.<\/p>\n
Online records show the investigation revolves around allegations she used her position with an Oregon housing authority \u201cto obtain financial benefit on travel and lodging, which is inconsistent with Home Forward\u2019s travel policy.\u201d The commission\u2019s investigator, Silas Patterson, further indicated Mathews may have faced a conflict of interest when she authorized her own travel.<\/p>\n
Muhamed told reporters the probe is expected to conclude within six months.<\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh housing authority\u2019s board of commissioners hired executive search firm Gans, Gans & Associates to assist in selecting qualified candidates. The firm identified four candidates, who were interviewed by board members.<\/p>\n
The housing authority\u2019s board determines who will serve as the agency\u2019s executive director.<\/p>\n
Board members were aware of the ongoing ethics investigation when they interviewed Mathews, Mohamed said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s ongoing, so I don\u2019t want to comment too much on it,\u201d he said of the probe. \u201cWe\u2019re confident it\u2019s not going to be a distraction.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what the board would do if the investigation found Mathews guilty of ethics violations, he replied, \u201cYou can come talk to us then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mohamed told reporters after Thursday\u2019s meeting that Mathews would not self-approve any travel expenses while working with Pittsburgh\u2019s housing authority, adding the HACP has \u201ca lot of internal checks and balances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re extremely confident this is a home-run decision, a home-run hire,\u201d he said, adding it is \u201cextremely difficult\u201d to find a candidate ready to hit the ground running in such a position. Mohamed believes Mathews\u2019 experience will allow her to be ready to get to work on day one.<\/p>\n
According to the housing authority, the board will negotiate Mathews\u2019 salary.<\/p>\n
Mathews will oversee a housing authority whose budget tops $255 million next year.<\/p>\n
Mathews resigned from Housing Forward on May 1, according to a statement released by the Oregon housing authority. She had led the entity for more than four years.<\/p>\n
In a news release Thursday from Pennsylvania United, a grassroots organization advocating for working class families throughout the state, elected officials and housing advocates celebrated Mathews\u2019 selection as the first woman to lead the city\u2019s housing authority.<\/p>\n
Mathews has more than 30 years of public housing leadership, Pennsylvania United\u2019s news release said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe importance of a strong housing authority cannot be overstated: The agency is responsible for providing habitability, transparency and keeping Pittsburgh home for nearly 18,000 tenants across the city,\u201d Maddy McGrady, co-chair of the Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table, said in a statement. \u201cNew leadership is a great opportunity to ensure our communities are a guiding voice in the direction of the housing authority and we look forward to working with Ivory Mathews to increase the supply of publicly owned, operated (and) financed units that our city, and most importantly, our public housing tenants deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, in a statement said she was confident Mathews could provide \u201csteady, accountable leadership,\u201d even as the federal administration creates \u201cnew uncertainty for families who depend on our housing institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic housing works best when residents are not an afterthought but at the center of every decision,\u201d Lee said. \u201cIvory Mathews understands that. She brings years of experience leading complex housing systems while staying grounded in the needs and voices of tenants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Binion concluded Thursday\u2019s meeting by thanking a litany of housing authority staffers, as well as housing activists and other partners.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, the statement I have to ask myself: Did I make an impact?\u201d Binion said.<\/p>\n
A room of housing authority staffers answered his query with a standing ovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh\u2019s Housing Authority board unanimously approved hiring a new executive director Thursday, despite an ongoing ethics investigation involving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-293387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}