What Is With That Guy?

Yesterday we saw a P-G Perspectives piece by Eloise McDonald, president of the Oak Hill Residents' Council. She argued against switching Oak Hill developers mid-stream, by awarding the contract for higher-end Phase II development to different interests than those already responsible for lower-income Phase I.

Her rationale was that without access to the Phase II payoff, the Phase I developer would be unable to maintain their property over time. The original plan was a mixed-income, sustainable community, but this new scheme, she claimed, would result in segregated haves and have-nots.

A fine, cogent argument, we thought. Oh, this is how she framed it:

"If we change developers, as housing authority Chairman Dennis Regan has demanded, the current Oak Hill community will be permanently locked into a low-income existence."

That was yesterday. We learn today from the P-G that Dennis Regan quit the Housing Authority. Yesterday.

We thought we had heard somewhere, "That man no longer works for the city." Today's article, in fairness, has Authority Executive Director Meachem assuring us, "He hasn't been involved in any [authority] activities since the time the mayor suspended him. None. Zero."

Still, this brings a new kind of significance to Ms. McDonald's pointed urge that we "follow the money" to see who benefits from switching Oak Hill developers.

Amazingly, Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle opined that Regan's resignation from the housing authority "comes on a sad note, because I thought he was doing a wonderful job."