Aron Axe: Clock is ticking on Buckley’s chance to change Annapolis public housing

I was there with many of you in 2017, sitting in the crowd on West Street on that cold December Monday, listening to newly elected Mayor Gavin Buckley give his acceptance speech with his signature disarming chuckle as he borrowed a pair of reading glasses from someone on his staff, talking about his hope for One Annapolis.

I had helped state Sen. John Astle run against him in the primary and yet I was still inspired by his honest appraisal of what our city needed to come together. It had been such a resounding victory over Mike Pantelides that his supporters were already lining up his acceptance speech for 2021. Nearly two years later, however, chronic issues with public and affordable housing have called that vision for change into question and could start to erode his chances at reelection.

The inherited findings of HACA’s mismanagement of funds under previous administrations; revolving door of HACA commissioners, currently with three vacant seats; and scheduled fall departure of HACA Executive Director Beverly Wilbourn have been compounded by a recent lawsuit brought against HACA and the city by residents over deplorable living conditions and by a HUD audit that found that sufficient standards weren’t being maintained in assessing eligibility for affordable housing vouchers.

Why should these issues be so important to Buckley in 2021? One could argue that minorities don’t turn out to vote. Indeed, the black and Hispanic communities in Annapolis, which represent roughly 30 and 8 percent of the eligible electorate respectively, have turned out at an abysmal combined 6-8 percent of actual voters in recent elections. But 2020 and 2021 likely have something new in store for elections.

The national-level Democratic movement to remove President Donald Trump from office and take back the Senate will certainly have ripple effects in state and local elections. Minorities will be mobilized in larger numbers.

How does this tie into HACA? Because, of the litany of issues that our city has pounded Buckley’s new administration over, from an inherited required property tax increase, to a frivolous bike lane, to the conflicted City Dock Master Plan, the issue of addressing the living conditions of our most vulnerable has the most associated traction with national-level politics.

What can Buckley do to shore up things before 2021? He must start by making wise appointments to these key positions. He needs leaders dedicated enough to roll-up their sleeves and clean up the mistakes of the past while weathering the associated political turbulence with him.

He needs to focus on improving security through enhanced access control and police presence, increasing trust between the police and public housing residents through proven community policing initiatives.

He needs to inspect living conditions by routinely visiting public housing himself, documenting discrepancies between what HACA is reporting and actual observed conditions — I’d even bring along a reporter from The Capital.

Once security and living conditions begin to improve, then his focus should be on a cultural sea change, shifting metrics of success from the assessed conditions of our public housing to how quickly residents are assisted in moving off of public subsidies altogether. That becomes more about access to quality healthcare, counseling, and rehabilitation programs; affordable daycare and youth mentor programs; relevant education and job training; and effective public transportation.

Change starts with a willingness to take political risks and Buckley needs to face these challenges head-on to deliver on his One Annapolis promise. I still hope and think he can.

Aron Axe, a retired Marine officer and Naval Academy graduate, holds a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and was a 2018 candidate for state delegate in Annapolis.