Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 18, 1993 TAG: 9309180252
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short
The decision came Thursday night after a series of hearings by the council on disputes involving the Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
John E. Zydron, the authority's attorney, declined to say whether the fired commissioners planned to appeal their dismissals.
Several council members said they wanted to appoint a new commission that would immediately dismiss interim executive director H. Scott Hardison.
Hardison had been chairman of the authority when he was appointed to the $58,000-a-year salaried position this summer, a move that federal housing officials said was a conflict of interest.
Other issues involved in the removals included:
In the past 2 1/2 years, the commissioners spent more for travel than commissioners at all other Hampton Roads housing authorities combined.
Some commissioners owed travel debts to the authority for trips taken as long ago as two years.
The commissioners secretly voted to pay themselves for serving on authority-linked corporations.
James H. Gordon, a commissioner appointed last year, was hurt by the decision. "It's not a good feeling," he said.
by CNB