Dwayne Alexander resigns as Jacksonville Housing Authority CEO amid board turnover

Jacksonville Housing Authority CEO Dwayne Alexander resigned Monday and said he is being "pushed out" by Mayor Donna Deegan's administration even though he received high marks in his most recent performance evaluation and guided the authority while purchasing apartment complexes for battling the affordable housing crisis.

"I feel I'm being pushed out in a manner not consistent with the law," he said in a resignation statement he read at the end of a housing authority board meeting.

City spokesman Phillip Perry said Alexander made his own decision to resign.

"The Deegan administration did not force Mr. Alexander out," Perry said. "He resigned of his own volition, and any leadership decisions are up to JHA's board of directors. It is also our understanding there are still ongoing investigations into the organization."

Office of Inspector General Matthew Lascell confirmed Tuesday his office is doing two investigations involving the housing authority. He said those are on track to wrap up in the next few weeks.

Perry said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is doing an audit of the housing authority. Alexander said Tuesday the audit is the normal oversight by HUD of housing authorities.

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Alexander told the board he is stepping down "with great dismay" and his final day will be in 30 days so he can see through the authority's second acquisition of an apartment complex in recent months. He did not elaborate on what is "not consistent with the law" in regard to the manner of his departure.

Alexander's resignation is the latest turnover in leadership at the housing authority, an independent city agency that handles U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding that helps thousands of low-income Duval County families. A seven-member board appointed by the mayor oversees the authority.

Deegan has cited the shortage of affordable housing as one of Jacksonville's biggest problems and has sought to expand options for renters and homeowners. Since taking office July 1, she has appointed three new board members to the housing authority and a fourth appointee is awaiting City Council confirmation. One board seat is vacant so Deegan could end up appointing five of the seven board members.

Three board members have resigned with time still left on their terms, most recently with the surprise departure last week of board chairman Christopher Walker. Two of those resignations happened after Deegan appointed replacements.

Perry said Deegan "promised to reactivate all of Jacksonville's boards and commissions."

"To accomplish that goal, she has made it a citywide effort to appoint board members who bring a greater sense of transparency, accountability and good governance that has been lacking in the past," he said.

After Alexander announced his resignation, board Vice Chairwoman Heather Horovitz thanked him for his five years of leadership at the housing authority and said the board will support the agency's staff while moving to hire the next CEO.

"I can't say enough that this housing authority does incredible things in this community and houses a lot of Jacksonville residents that other agencies and other programs forget," she said. "I know it's a lot of hard work."

Alexander said he is leaving the housing authority "set for future success." The board awarded him a $20,000 performance bonus in December for his work during the prior year.

But some board members also questioned whether he was the right person to lead the authority going forward. Alexander had been working without a contract since a multi-year contract expired in late September.

Board members who evaluated Alexander's job performance gave him an average score of 4.45 out of 5, which put him in the "exceeds expectations" category, according to information presented at the Nov. 2 board meeting. The board members who did that evaluation did not include any of the members appointed by Deegan.

The board offered him a six-month contract in December rather than a two-year extension. Alexander did not sign that six-month contract.

"I feel like the new administration is improperly pushing me out through the board of commissioners based on the comments made by some of the board commissioners in the past two months and its actions," he said in the prepared statement he read at the board meeting.

He said after the meeting he has been considering his future at the housing authority in light of comments about his leadership of it.

"It's about being respectful and being disrespectful because when it gets to being disrespectful, then you have to look at things from a different perspective because it has nothing to do with my ability," he said. "My ability was clearly displayed in my (performance) evaluation."

Alexander become CEO after investigation of former CEO

Alexander, who has worked in the public housing field for nearly 30 years, became acting CEO in late 2018 at a time of upheaval for the authority. The authority board put then-CEO Fred McKinnies on paid administrative leave during an investigation that eventually found McKinnies had long-term sexual relationships with two employees whose career path he “directly or indirectly” controlled.

Alexander lead the authority through the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave high-performing rates to the authority during his tenure. After conducting a national search for a top executive, the board decided to lift the "interim" from Alexander's title in August 2021.

In November, aides for Deegan told the board it should put off giving a raise the board was discussing for Alexander as part of extending his employment contract.

Mayoral aides Garrett Dennis and Tracye Polson went to the Nov. 9 board meeting to tell the board it would send the wrong message to give Alexander a raise while the city was facing an affordable housing crisis. Alexander had received a raise to $250,000 per year in the spring and board members had discussed another raise in the range of $310,000.

The housing authority later faced a Jacksonville Office of Inspector General report that said just 13% of financial assistance to residents to help cover the cost of their utilities was paid directly by residents to utility companies.

Alexander responded that the authority fully complies with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations in how the authority distributes the federal funds to residents on preloaded debit cards. Alexander said HUD does not require residents to use the debit cards only for direct payments to utilities but instead can also the money as a reimbursement for their utility payments.

No one on the board has called on the housing authority to adopt the Office of Inspector General report's recommendation for how it administers the utility reimbursement program.

Perry said the program "would certainly benefit from better accountability measures, but that policy decision is ultimately up to" the board.

Alexander's resignation came at the end of a meeting when the board authorized issuing up to $47 million in bonds for buying and renovating the 256-unit Westwood Apartments at 1171 Lane Ave. S. on the Westside. The authority would offer a mix of rental rates at Westwood for different incomes.

The authority recently closed on the $8 million purchase of the 102-unit Downtown East Apartments, formerly known as Franklin Arms, in the Eastside neighborhood.

The authority set a goal of adding 500 housing units per year through property acquisition and new construction.

In addition to searching for a new CEO, the board still must elect a chairman to replace Walker. An attempt to make Horovitz the board chair failed on a 3-1 vote because it needed at least four board members in support. Board member Harriett Brock said the decision should wait until more board members are in place.

Cindy Funkhouser, who was confirmed Sept. 12 by City Council after Deegan decided to replace Craig Shoup, has not been at any board meetings. She has been waiting for a waiver from HUD to serve on the board because the Sulzbacher Center, where she is CEO, receives federal housing dollars. Alexander asked HUD in a Nov. 2 letter to grant the waiver.

City Council will vote in February on confirming Lisa Strange Weatherby to replace Andre Green, who resigned from the board on Jan. 19.

Deegan has not filed legislation yet to fill the seat left vacant by Walker's resignation.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Housing Authority CEO resigns