SUN EDITORIAL:

Leadership change needed

Federal housing chief resigns, but probe of his dealings should continue

Tuesday, April 1, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

As the nation faces a staggering home foreclosure rate, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson resigned Monday amid a federal investigation into whether he has awarded government housing contracts to his friends.

Jackson, who was appointed HUD secretary in 2004 by President Bush, cited family matters as the reason for his resignation, which takes effect April 18. Jackson did not mention the FBI’s ongoing examination of such conflicts as a HUD contract’s being awarded to one of his friends, who was paid $392,000 for work as a construction manager in New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.

He also has been accused of threatening to withdraw HUD funding from the Philadelphia Housing Authority after the authority’s president refused to turn over to a politically connected developer a property worth an estimated $2 million, The New York Times reports.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., had called for Jackson’s resignation, saying the allegations raised serious doubts about Jackson’s ability to lead HUD effectively and ethically.

We agree.

Still, the loss of the nation’s housing chief comes at a troubling time. Thousands of families are facing foreclosure and forfeiture of their homes in the ongoing mortgage crisis.

The demand for subsidized housing is certain to increase, as are the number of requests for federal refinancing aid. About 130,000 struggling homeowners already have obtained federally backed refinancing of their homes through the Federal Housing Administration, but that number is expected to increase to 300,000 by year’s end, the Times reports.

Murray told the Times that Jackson’s resignation must be more than “just to save face,” and that Bush needs to find a replacement who is experienced and trustworthy.

We could not agree more.

We also hope the FBI continues its probe into Jackson’s dealings and relationships with government contractors.

Resignation aside, if Jackson has been engaged in wrongdoing, he must be held accountable.