In a push for change, Common Ground has nominated seven candidates to serve on the board of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee.
Board members are nominated by the mayor with the approval of the Common Council. However, no one has been nominated for the board of the Housing Authority, also known as HACM, since August 2022.
Since then, residents have demanded an investigation and leadership change at the Housing Authority, alleging lost rent payments, poor management and maintenance problems for years.
They have also struggled to get through to the current board.
Common Ground is a 15-year-old nonpartisan coalition that addresses community issues.
In a letter to Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Common Ground leaders noted that despite dozens of stories of mismanagement, abuse and fraud for more than a year, HACM does not have a full Board of Commissioners.
The Board of Commissioners is meant to be a seven-member board but currently only has four commissioners.
“The longer the board remains weak, the longer thousands of low-income seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and families of color will suffer physically and emotionally,” the letter said.
Jeff Fleming, the director of communications and public engagement for the mayor’s office, said: “The mayor appreciates the thoughtful suggestions from Common Ground, and there are names on the list that are seriously considered by the mayor as possible nominees. No final determination has been reached.”
The letter asks the mayor to choose four of the seven nominees within the next month.
Meet the nominees
Christine Donahoe is a civil rights attorney who has worked with the ACLU of Wisconsin and Legal Action of Wisconsin. Donahoe has experience representing tenants in subsidized and public housing in eviction, disability accommodations and protections for survivors of domestic abuse.
She said if she is approved, she would focus on investigating residents’ concerns, bringing accountability where it is due and engaging residents in all processes.
(Photo provided by Carmelia Harris)
Carmelia Harris is a former social worker for HACM. She provided care for 13 low-income senior developments and worked with resident organizations at each.
She also is a former board member and current advisory committee member at Teens Grow Greens, a nonprofit that helps develop teens through hands-on experience in healthy living and entrepreneurship.
Harris also works as a rehabilitation specialist with Miracle Home Health of Wisconsin, assisting clients with mental health, substance use disorders, housing, physical health and medication. Miracle Home Health is an in-home health care provider.
“I love the Housing Authority’s mission of helping people be housed and find sustainability,” said Harris. But her time with the organization also opened her eyes to changes that need to be made.
If approved, Harris said she will focus on creating a stronger partnership with Housing Authority residents, its leadership and city officials to ensure residents’ needs are met.
Roye “Chris” Logan is a Housing Authority resident and has been active in Common Ground’s Tenants United Campaign since it began in 2020. Logan is the president of the Mitchell Court Resident Organization and has spent years advocating on behalf of her neighbors and other residents of the Housing Authority.
the board of Housing Authority of City of Milwaukee. (Photo provided
by Common Ground)
Logan said if approved, she would focus on structure throughout HACM.
“We need to come together and straighten out our housing,” she said. “I’m an advocate for people, and I want to make sure their voices are the ones we are centering.”
Rebecca Rabatin works for Independence First as a community access and legislative policy analyst. Independence First is a social service agency that serves Milwaukeeans with disabilities.
board. (Photo provided by Rebecca Rabatin)
She also has worked as an Americans with Disability Act coordinator for the city of Milwaukee and as a commercial code enforcement inspector for the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services.
Rabatin said if approved, she would focus on how HACM serves its residents with disabilities.
“I would spend a lot of time asking questions on policy and procedure,” she said. “ How well is the organization adhering to HUD Section 504, which provides rights to persons with disabilities in HUD-funded programs and activities?”
Other Common ground nominees include: Jackie Burrell, the president of the West Lawn Resident Organization; Clarissa Cameron, the regional director of resident services for Mercy Housing; and Betty Newton, the president of the Becher Court Resident Organization.
They were not available for interviews.
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