She had to travel only one floor to get it. Jackson-Brooks works on the second floor of New Haven City Hall as Mayor John DeStefano's executive assistant. Then the other half is forgiven. She is also the only person to receive a HOME loan specifically to remove lead paint, after city inspectors found a child on the premises with lead poisoning. Both Alvarado and Jackson-Brooks defend the loan as not only legal, but appropriate.
Federal regulations appear to tell a different story.
The money comes to the city from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Jackson-Brooks is an appointed official. It's hard to argue that, as DeStefano's top aide, she's not in a position to participate in relevant decision-making processes, or at least have the potential to gain inside information. The Hartford-based HUD official who oversees New Haven's HOME spending, Gary Reisine, says New Haven has submitted no such request. Top city lawyer Patricia Cofrancesco says she signed off on Jackson-Brooks' loan.