Chattanooga City Councilman Moses Freeman speaks during the rally at Miller Park.Public housing residents are not adequately represented on the Chattanooga Housing Authority board, and they want the mayor to appoint more of them to the board to make sure their interests are protected.
The Peoples Coalition for Affordable Housing asked the City Council to draft an ordinance that would ensure the mayor appoints public housing residents to a majority of CHA board seats.
The board has made “decisions which are not only outside of the interests of public housing residents, but decisions which are immediately divergent from interests of residents,” according to a letter that the Peoples Coalition for Affordable Housing gave to City Council members this week.
The idea fell flat with a couple of council members and one public housing resident.
“They don’t even know what they are talking about,” Councilman Moses Freeman said about the coalition, which he said does not have the credibility to speak for residents. “They are just a loose collection of people that formed together to advocate for something they personally believe in.”