Christina Jedra

The News Journal

The latest incarnation of the Wilmington Housing Authority board, which was recently almost completely turned over, will hold its first meeting next week.

The board of commissioners, which oversees the organization that provides 10 percent of Wilmington's housing, will meet at 400 N. Walnut St. on Monday.

A 3:30 p.m. executive session will precede a 6 p.m. election of officers, including a new chair. A public comment period will be at 6:15 p.m.

The former board was cleared and replaced, with the exception of one member, after a federal review, made public by The News Journal, discovered dysfunction and threatened to cut funding.

Mayor Mike Purzycki named six new members to the board. The mayor is responsible for naming one more member. County Executive Matt Meyer named one new member, and Gov. John Carney retained his predecessor's pick, Vincent White.

Former Board Chairman Herman Holloway Jr., who had been appointed by former County Executive Tom Gordon, was relieved of his duties along with five other board members. Two board members resigned last month after The News Journal story was published.

STORY: After criticism, overhaul at housing authority board

STORY: Amid drama, 2 Wilmington Housing board members quit

Purzycki said earlier this month that he wanted to send a signal to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development office, which gave a critical review of the board under Holloway.

"When we have an agency that does important work and gets correspondence from HUD about deep concerns about how the multimillion-dollar operation is run, we have a responsibility to make changes," he said.

The new members include: Betty Lewis, a 30-year WHA resident; Matthew Heckles, a former director of finance, policy and planning for the Delaware State Housing Authority; Steve Martin, the executive director of the nonprofit Wilmington Housing Partnership; Steven Washington, a special education teacher at Talley Middle School and a former mayoral candidate; James Spadola, a Newark police officer; Ben Cohen, a Midtown Brandywine resident and IT manager; and Tim Crawl-Bey, the former director of Wilmington's real estate and housing department.

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.