Two Montgomery County residents who say the Housing Opportunities Commission has ducked its responsibility in memorializing a historic African-American cemetery in Bethesda’s Westbard neighborhood are running for a vacancy on the commission.
Jeanne Toungara and William Cook are among those who have applied to fill a vacancy on the seven-member commission, which is responsible for acquiring, leasing and operating affordable housing in Montgomery County as well as providing social services for residents in the housing.
HOC has been in the spotlight since 2017 after the acquisition of property at 5204 River Road, which members of the historically black Macedonia Baptist Church believe graves of descendants of the church.
The site is a parking area for the adjacent Westwood Towers, and HOC has promised that they would work with the congregation to ensure that the site is “memorialized.”
HOC members have said this will not occur until a meeting between the commission, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and County Executive Marc Elrich takes place.
For two years, protesters have showed up to the HOC’s monthly meetings, demanding that the commission give control of the land to the church. Several protestors have been arrested but charges not pursued later in court.
Barry Hudson, a spokesman for the county executive, said Elrich still plans to meet with the parties.
“We are working to set up a meeting in the near future and bring the parties together so that we can discuss ways to work to a mutually agreeable outcome,” he wrote in an email.
Toungara, who lives in Silver Spring and is a history professor at Howard University in the District of Columbia, called for an external assessment by an outside party at Wednesday’s meeting to determine whether the commission is meeting its basic responsibilities.
In an interview after, Toungara said she has heard that investors are “walking away” from properties that the HOC owns.
“At what point do they care about this underserved population that they’re mandated to serve. They have some 32,000 people looking for housing. What are they doing? Where’s their assessment?” she said.
Toungara said the church debacle is an example of the HOC’s ineffectiveness.
“I think they’re doing a terrible job of trying to find some means to accommodate the requests being made by an important civil society coalition. Montgomery County cannot ignore its civil society,” she said.
William Cook, a Rockville activist who has also attended the monthly protests, said in addition to the church issue, he has heard other complaints from residents about the organization.
“Every month, we see additional heartbreaking stories from residents who are underserved and are mistreated by the housing opportunities commission. This organization is corrupt, and at best incompetent. I hope to bring transparency and accountability to the organization,” Cook said.
HOC commissioners are appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the County Council. The applicants are running for the seat that was vacated by Edgar Rodriguez. The application period closed May 13.
Earlier this year, state Sen. Ben Kramer, a Wheaton Democrat, successfully sponsored legislation that gives the council the authority to allow the county’s inspector general more oversight over the HOC.
HOC Chief Operating Officer Shauna Sorrells wrote in an email that the commission strives to provide “excellent service” to its customers and partners.
“Where we fall short, we work hard to rectify the issue because our business is to help vulnerable families remain stably housed. Each month we have perhaps 2 – 4 customers address the commissioners with problems they may be having navigating our agency and staff work with them to address and resolve issues onsite to the maximum extent practicable,” she wrote.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
