Robinson questioned Burke's attitude, given that she represents many public housing tenants and because she gets money from the housing authority. Burke owns 12 houses that are part of the housing authority's Section 8 program, which subsidizes low-income tenants who rent from private landlords. I'm not getting into no conversation over what anyone has to say. Robinson sees a clear conflict. The climate at the housing authority is often tense.
Management faces lawsuits from former employees who complain of bad treatment.
Phil Harris, the former finance director, sued the agency in July 1999, claiming that he was fired and discriminated against because he is white. Caesar Werts, a former maintenance worker, sued the agency last July, alleging that his supervisor defamed him with a bad reference. He resigned a year earlier. Veronica Creach, a former social worker at the authority, has filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful discharge. Lynn Hughes was the contract administrator until she was fired in January.