Columbia mayor urges nationwide search for housing authority CEO in letter to board
Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann is asking the city’s Housing Authority to open a nationwide search to fill its vacant CEO position, vacated last week by Ivory Mathews, who resigned to take a similar role in Oregon.
“As we are in a time of transition and coming to the end of an already trying period, it is more important than ever that we get the right person to lead our city’s housing authority,” Rickenmann wrote in a letter sent to Columbia Housing Authority commissioners Monday.
Rickenmann proposes hiring a firm to conduct a nationwide search for that person. In his letter he suggests the Florida-based firm Gans Gans & Associates, which specializes in recruiting leaders for housing authorities across the country.
The firm has worked with dozens of housing authorities, from St. Louis to San Francisco to Daytona Beach, according to its website.
Rickenmann identified that firm by contacting experts in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, who recommended the Florida consultants, Rickenmann spokesperson Logan McVey told The State.
“A nationwide search for a transformative candidate should be a top priority of the leadership at CHA,” the letter continues. “The opportunity for real change and improvement in the Columbia Housing Authority is one that should be taken seriously and given the due consideration required of such an important position.”
Rickenmann’s preferred firm, founded by Simone Gans Barefield, is woman and minority run, which he also points out in his letter to the board.
The mayor is also asking the housing authority board to publicize its candidates once individuals have been vetted to allow for public feedback before a final decision is made.
“Community engagement and involvement in reviewing a slate of nationwide candidates will ensure all interests are represented and the best decisions are being made,” he wrote.
The Columbia Housing Authority is led by a board of commissioners, which make decisions about the agency. Those commissioners are appointed by the mayor and ratified by the Columbia City Council.
Members of the board contacted by phone and email were not immediately reached by The State Tuesday. The housing authority’s spokesperson, Cynthia Hardy, offered a brief statement on behalf of the board in response to the letter.
“Columbia Housing’s partnership with the City of Columbia is very important to us. We acknowledge receipt of the mayor’s letter and welcome the valued input and insight of all city leaders as we move forward. Transparency, resident-focused and community-focused progress is important to the Columbia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners,” the statement reads.
“It is important to all of us that we have solid leadership as we (move) forward. Our citizens deserve no less,” it continues.
The statement adds that the housing authority’s leadership “looks forward to sitting down with Mayor Rickenmann in the near future.”
Mathews, the now-former housing authority CEO, took over the position in 2019. She became CEO shortly after two people died from carbon monoxide poisoning at Allen Benedict Court, which led to longtime housing authority director Gilbert Walker’s departure.
As the agency searches for a replacement, the housing authority’s chief operating officer, Yvonda Bean, has stepped into the CEO role as interim executive, according to the agency.
Read Rickenmann’s entire letter to the board here.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 3:15 PM.
