-David Crowder, WRGA News-
By a 5-3 vote, the Rome City Commission has approved an appointment to the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority.
The city’s Committee on Committees recommended the appointment of Keruin Ruiz.
However, some commissioners opposed the appointment.
Commissioner Elaina Beeman expressed concerns about representation on the housing authority.
“Four men, who represent our area, are making decisions for African-American women,” she said. So, the nomination that is being recommended right now is a Hispanic female, and that is great because I feel like that population needs to be represented. But why not you choose, as a committee, someone from the housing authority to represent that, and make sure we have the right representation that’s making decisions for women who we are trying to transition into self-sufficiency?”
Commissioner Craig McDaniel, chair of the Committee on Committees, responded.
“I’m not going to talk about the racial quotas because I don’t deal in quotas; we are past that,” he said. “I had lunch with the housing authority director the other day. I met with the current chair of the housing authority. I talked with the vice-chair of the housing authority, and I ran this candidate by them. She is a Hispanic female, and there are a lot of Hispanics who live in public housing.”
Commissioner Hixon made a motion to table the nomination, and it failed.
Also, on Monday, the commission approved the appointment of Tabitha Helms and Joseph Wright to the Rome Redevelopment Agency.
Again, Commissioner Beeman raised concerns about the nomination process.
“It is not a reflection on any of the individuals who are nominated,” she said. “But, for once, I would just like for us to have a conversation with each other. Let us talk to each other, and talk about it without talking at each other. I don’t feel that the process that we have in place is fair. I don’t feel that it is unbiased, and I don’t feel that it is consistent.”
Commissioner McDaniel again responded.
“I appreciate your concern, and I know that transparency is something that is on all of our minds,” he said. “We have not changed the process since I have been on the city commission. I’ve been on the commission for eleven years. We follow the same process Do you think something has changed?”
“I do,” Beeman said. “Because we have appointed people on certain committees who didn’t even fill out an application.”
The vote to confirm the Redevelopment Agency appointment was 7-1.
