On Tuesday, the Asheville City Council ousted the local housing authority’s chair and vice-chair after Mayor Esther Manheimer changed her mind about using unilateral authority to remove several board members.
Council members voted unanimously to eliminate two seats on the Housing Authority of the City of Asheville (HACA) board and specifically remove Chair Tilman Jackson and Vice-Chair Reginald Robinson.
The move comes months after the board fired former CEO Monique Pierre, who faced criticism for her handling of the challenges Hurricane Helene brought to the public housing system, as well as her attempt to replace the Southside Community Farm with a playground.
READ MORE: "Soiled sheets and overflowing toilets: Public housing residents decry post-Helene conditions"
Last month, Manheimer put three board members – Jackson, Reginald Robinson, and David “Butch” Robinson – on official notice that she planned to remove them due to “inefficiency in office.” Instead of holding a planned hearing for the board members, Jackson and Reginald Robinson were removed via a council resolution eliminating two seats on the HACA Board of Commissioners.
The decision, an item on the consent agenda, was made quickly and with limited discussion from council members. The resolution reduces the number of seats on the board from 11 to nine.
Ahead of the vote, Jackson and Reginald Robinson spoke during a public comment session, asserting they deserved a hearing before getting removed.
“I just don't think that's fair. If I did something wrong, I think you ought to tell me about it. Let me explain it. And then if you make your decision, I can respect it,” Jackson said.
“No one should be accused of something or be eliminated from something without cause,” Jackson, who is a pastor and director of Western Carolina Rescue Ministries, said.
Robinson told BPR he is consulting with legal counsel about his next move.
He said he is proud of what he accomplished as a board member, especially the support he brought to public housing residents in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
“I partnered with Water to Wine to bring flushable water and water totes to all the housing developments in the surrounding areas. We also made videos on how to clean and be healthy and safe with limited use of water resources,” Robinson, a local high school coach who works at Asheville City Schools, said.
North Carolina law requires that at least one of the commissioners on the board must be someone who is directly assisted by the housing authority. Until Tuesday night, Robinson, a Hillcrest resident, was that representative. His removal leaves the commission without a public housing resident on the board.
Manheimer said there is a process to find another resident representative to replace Robinson, but it won’t happen until summer when board member Roy Harris’ term expires.
“We do have someone in mind for that appointment and they have been, they will be notified after this meeting of their forthcoming appointment as soon as a vacancy is made available,” she said.
Dewana Little, a former public housing resident and chair of the Asheville-Buncombe Reparations Commission, was one of 10 people who spoke against unseating the board members. She described the city’s process as “messy.”
“Everyone is asking just for the right to be heard, for transparency, to understand what is happening,” she said. “This does not just impact them two men, it impacts the public housing residents.”
State law gives the mayor sole power to appoint and remove housing authority board members. City Council has the power to vary the size of the board between five and 11 members.
Over the last four years, Asheville elected leaders have expanded the board twice – including from seven members to 11 members in January. Then, Manheimer appointed five new board members: Mychal Bacoate, Carol Goins, Sean Aardema, Maggie Slocumb and Kimberly Collins.
At last night’s meeting, Manheimer did not explain her rationale for wanting to change the board size twice in the same year, but she did hint at her reasoning during a city council briefing last Friday.
“The vice mayor and I have been working on trying to reassemble the board,” Manheimer said. “There continues to be some turmoil - for lack of a better term - at the administrative team of HACA, so we’re hoping to get an effective board in place to help right that ship.”
Manheimer told BPR in a phone call that she hopes these changes will improve the housing authority’s ability to deliver resident services, maintain safety and effectively run its voucher program.
She said she hopes the housing authority will strengthen its partnerships with local nonprofit agencies Homeward Bound and Helpmate and that she would also like to see the redevelopment of Deaverview, a public housing community, move forward after years of delays.
Other tidbits
- Hurricane Helene did not delay the Interstate 26 Connector Project, NCDOT spokesperson Nathan Moneyham shared. After shaving $125 million off the $1.2 billion contract, the project is set to move forward with construction in the fall of 2026. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2031.
- For the fourth time, council members delayed a vote on two proposed zoning changes. The proposal would loosen development regulations on cottage housing and flag lots – long and narrow parcels of land that have space for a house or structure that doesn’t face the street. These changes were first placed on the City Council’s agenda in April 2024, a full year after resident Barry Bialik petitioned for a zoning amendment.
Every second and fourth Tuesday, Asheville City Council meets at the Council Chamber on the 2nd Floor of City Hall, 70 Court Plaza, beginning at 5 p.m. See the full recording of the Feb. 11 meeting and the agenda.
