The Houston Housing Authority provides housing and services to tens of thousands of low-income people in our city. It’s a huge resource for many families and that’s why KPRC 2 Investigates has spent months looking into the spending habits and leadership.
In part, our months-long KPRC 2 Investigation uncovered misused money and led to the resignation of then-CEO David Northern.
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Now, there’s a new president and CEO in charge.
Jamie Bryant sat down with Investigative reporter Amy Davis to talk about his new role and the next steps.
Bryant, the new CEO of the Houston Housing Authority, expressed gratitude for the community’s advocacy and the KPRC 2 investigative work that highlighted issues within the organization.
“Thank you for your advocacy for the community and thank you for a lot of the things you uncovered that I know the board wasn’t aware of.”
In an interview with investigative reporter Amy Davis, Bryant shared the significant changes he is implementing following KPRC 2’s investigations, which revealed corruption, kickbacks, and unfinished projects that exceeded budgets by millions.
“One of the very first things I did when I stepped in here was I turned off the spigot... and said, ‘turn it off,‘” Bryant said. He emphasized that he halted the flow of funds from the Houston Housing Authority while reviewing new projects and the personnel on his team.
Bryant noted that many key leaders, including vice presidents and senior vice presidents from the previous administration under David Northern, are no longer with the organization. Northern resigned amid investigations and is now the CEO of the Flint Housing Authority.
Bryant eliminated the senior advisor position held by Na’Shon Edwards, who had previously spent thousands of housing authority funds at upscale restaurants.
He also terminated senior vice president Khadija Darr, who received a $24,000 pay raise after less than two years, and fired Marquis Barnes, who was linked to questionable contractors and deals.
“This isn’t about my ego, but I am the face of the agency going forward,” Bryant said. “If I am not personally willing to stand up in front of a school board superintendent, the mayor, city council, a county commissioner, a local super neighborhood council and vehemently and nationally defend what we’re doing, we’re not doing it.”
With 25 years of real estate development experience, Bryant was not involved when the Houston Housing Authority contracted with 22 small businesses to install window air conditioning units in three public housing developments, which resulted in significant budget overruns for a park that was never completed. He acknowledged that the findings from the investigations raised numerous red flags.
“I can’t think why anybody would set it up this way unless they were trying to leave the back door open,” Bryant said. “I don’t have evidence to support that, but I can tell you from my 25 years of experience in this industry, there’s not a lot of other good answers.”
Past leadership accused of contract payouts
You may remember, as we were investigating the Houston Housing Authority, we found many in leadership received big salary increases. Others got handsome payouts when they left HHA. Because we revealed the money they received, we asked the same questions of the new CEO.
Former President and CEO Northern made ($278,500/yr).
Bryant makes $350,000 with an opportunity for an annual bonus of up to $70,000 and a car allowance of $750/mo.
Davis asked Bryant if he thought his compensation was fair.
"Regarding my compensation level, one of the things that the board did, they hired consultants, and I did my own work (looking into) what the housing executives across this country and across Texas make in similar positions," explained Bryant.
“I will tell you that my compensation is not even in the top 10 in the United States. And most of them don’t have a portion of their compensation tied to performance. Most of them just get their full salary every year and none of it is at risk. And so, my contract, while large in context to some people and while higher than David’s, is in the market and actually below market."
HHA provided a statement to KPRC 2 Investigates explaining the hiring process.
In part, it explains the salary analysis comparing executive compensation among the largest public housing authorities in the United States.
HHA says the highest-paid CEOs include:
- Philadelphia Housing Authority $515,941
- Atlanta Housing Authority $483,651
- Dallas Housing Authority $473,146
- New York City Housing Authority $372,496
- Los Angeles County Development Authority $343,785
Given these findings, the HHA recommended the compensation align with the top five housing authorities.
Bryant also talked about changes in other leadership.
"Ultimately, I can’t achieve anything if I don’t have a strong leadership team around me. And, you know, a lot of, as you are aware, a lot of the key leaders, vice presidents, senior vice presidents, folks like that, that were under Mr. Northern’s administration, are no longer here. Some of them exited, and some of them left when he did. And so... I’ve been doing a full-on assessment of where our holes are, what we need to do to make sure we can move this agency forward."
How is the Houston Housing Authority funded?
The Houston Housing Authority, although not a city or county department, is primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). However, the authority’s decisions have significant impacts on the city of Houston. The mayor of Houston is responsible for appointing the HHA Board of Commissioners, which oversees the operations of the housing authority.
Thousands of people are still on a funding waitlist
Another part of the KPRC 2 Investigation involves vouchers. More than 18, 000 are on a waitlist to get a voucher to help them pay rent.
SEE MORE: Amy Davis talked with Bryant about the Housing Choice Voucher program and what is next.
There may be more evidence to uncover. The housing authority board hired a third-party law firm to investigate all contracts, agreements, and payouts related to the deals exposed by KPRC 2. Bryant indicated that the investigation is complete, and with the board’s approval, he hopes to share the results later this month.
Need help?
Our investigation into the Houston Housing Authority started with emails from viewers who had questions and needed help. Do you have a question or topic idea for us? Email ADavis@kprc.com and producer Andrea Slaydon at Aslaydon@kprc.com.
