Fired exec sues housing authority

LITTLE ROCK — The fired executive director of Little Rock’s public housing authority filed a federal lawsuit against the agency Thursday, alleging that the board of commissioners fired her in retaliation for her allegations of board misconduct.

Nadine Jarmon’s attorney, Chris Corbitt, said in August, just after Jarmon was fired, that she planned to sue the Metropolitan Housing Alliance under the federal Whistleblower Protection Act. The suit asks for a trial by jury and a currently unspecified amount of monetary damages.

Jarmon filed a 161- page complaint to the Little Rock mayor’s office and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Little Rock field office on June 23. The memo alleged that the housing authority board repeatedly engaged in unnecessary spending, sidestepped federal approvals and had conflicts of interest with parties involved in transactions with the agency.

The memo included a collection of emails, bank statements, board minutes, board resolutions and other documents as evidence to back up Jarmon’s claims.

“Rather than commend Nadine Jarmon for calling attention to the abuses of the board, MHA retaliated against Jarmon for reporting the waste and fraud by firing her,” the lawsuit states.

Kenyon Lowe, chairman of the housing authority board, did not respond to requests for comment by phone and email Thursday.

The Whistleblower Protection Act prohibits retaliation against federal government employees who report mismanagement, negligence, abuse of power or illegal activity by a government entity. The Little Rock housing agency is federally funded, but it was created by the Little Rock Board of Directors in 1940.

Jarmon’s lawsuit alleges wrongful termination in addition to the claim that the housing authority violated federal law.

“There is a well- established public policy in this State favoring the reporting of illegal and unsafe activity, specifically government waste and those who abuse the public trust,” the lawsuit states.

Jarmon requests financial compensation for “front pay, back pay, attorney’s fees and costs, compensatory damages for any past or future outof-pocket losses and for any emotional harm,” according to the lawsuit. The board’s actions have caused “irreparable harm to her reputation” as well as “emotional pain and turmoil,” the filing states.

She was the agency’s interim executive director from July 2020 to April, when the board tapped her as the fulltime executive director. Her two-year contract was set to pay her $166,000 a year.

The board initially chose her for the job in 2019, but she declined the offer. The board restarted the search and eventually chose Anthony Snell for the post. Snell resigned in June 2020 and wrote in his resignation letter that the board had harmed and micromanaged the agency.

Jarmon’s departure was part of a revolving door of leadership at the agency, which has seen six interim or official executive directors in three years. Marshall Nash, Snell and Jarmon all left or were forced out after clashes with the board.

Financial director Andy Delaney was appointed acting executive director upon Jarmon’s suspension, but he left the agency in September. Former city diversity manager Ericka Benedicto has been interim executive director since then.

The Metropolitan Housing Alliance oversees about 900 traditional public housing units, 200 affordable housing units and 160 market-rate units. It also administers more than 2,000 Section 8 vouchers. It is the largest public housing authority in Arkansas and provides housing assistance to about 8,000 low-income people.

Shortly after Jarmon filed the 161-page complaint, the board placed her on administrative leave with pay and hired Pinnacle Strategy Group, led by attorney Leon Jones Jr., to investigate the allegations in the memo. Arkansas law allows housing authorities “to conduct examinations and investigations.”

Jarmon’s lawsuit claims the no- bid contract with Jones, which would have paid him up to $160,000 for up to 10 months of work, was “in continuance of MHA misappropriation of government funds.”

The housing authority board terminated Jones’ contract in July, less than a month after entering it, after officials at the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Little Rock field office said it was improperly procured.

The lawsuit alleges that the Jones investigation was a “cover-up,” since the board suspended Jarmon and banned her from Metropolitan Housing Alliance properties for the duration of the investigation.

Corbitt said the board hired Jones to investigate Jarmon rather than her allegations, but Jones said in an interview that was untrue. He said the short-lived investigation pertained only to Jarmon’s allegations.

“My contract spells out exactly what I was supposed to do, and that’s what I did,” Jones said.

Jarmon filed a formal complaint with the federal housing department’s fraud hot line on Aug. 21, claiming that her suspension was retaliation for her complaint in June.

The board fired her four days later, and the lawsuit alleges that the firing was a direct retaliation for the additional complaint.

Jarmon’s complaint in June is being investigated by the Housing and Urban Development Departmental Enforcement Center, a spokesperson said in August.