Conflict arises over housing post

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2002 | 9:08 a.m.

It appeared the Las Vegas Housing Authority board had narrowed its choices for a new executive director to three finalists Tuesday, but in fact the commission began and ended the day with the same five finalists, the board's chairman, Councilman Michael McDonald, said.

The five finalists are Harrison Shannon Jr., former president of the Charlotte, N.C., Housing Authority; John Harmon, executive director of the Bellingham/Whatcom County Housing Authorities in Washington; Jemine A. Bryon, assistant executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority; Barrett Philpott, deputy executive director of the Housing Authority of Portland, Ore.; and Parviz Ghadiri, acting executive director of the Las Vegas Housing Authority.

The confusing turn of events began after the commissioners returned from a closed-door discussion on the matter, and Commissioner Robert Forbuss said Shannon, Harmon and Bryon were the finalists.

But the commissioners did not vote on that list, commission attorney Scott Marquis said.

The commission did vote later to postpone a decision, Marquis said. That meant all of those who were finalists at the beginning of the meeting were still finalists at the end of the meeting, he said.

Meanwhile, Carlos Jackson, executive director of the Los Angeles Community Development Commission and a highly regarded finalist for the city position, withdrew his application for the job on Friday, McDonald said.

McDonald said the commission will hold a special meeting, probably in early December, to narrow the field to two, three or four candidates.

Then the top finalists will be brought to Las Vegas to be interviewed and tour Housing Authority properties, he said. A decision on the new executive director could come in mid-December, he said.

But Commissioner Beatrice Turner says the commission already narrowed the field to three finalists, Shannon, Harmon and Bryon.

"Those were the ones we discussed when we went behind closed doors. Those were the three we agreed to," Turner said.

"I couldn't tell you what happened," she said. "But to my understanding we have three (finalists)."

But which three apparently was not clear. Commissioner Dewain Steadman said that when he left the closed-door meeting he was under the impression Ghadiri was among the three finalists for the job.

"This man in my opinion is one of the best," Steadman said. "He's been through the storm here. Been through hell when Mr. (Frederick) Brown died, and hell keeping this organization together."

Ghadiri has been the acting executive director since July, stepping into the position after the death of Brown. Before that Ghadiri was deputy executive director of the Housing Authority.

Ghadiri said he didn't know if there was any politicking going on, and he would go along with whatever the commissioners decide.

"If I don't get it I go back to being deputy," he said.

The new executive director would oversee a $65 million budget, 192 full-time employees and an agency that helps provide affordable housing for about 12,000 low-income families and senior citizens.