A Little Too Blunt?

By Alan Mallach

Alphonso Jackson, HUD’s tough-talking chief, might have spoken a little too bluntly in Dallas in April. Speaking before a gathering of business leaders, Jackson said that he had denied a government contract to an executive because the man mentioned that he disliked President Bush and his policies. Making contract decisions for such political reasons is flagrantly illegal. Jackson later said he had been speaking about an imaginary situation, but we’ll see: HUD’s inspector general is investigating the case.

Alan Mallach, senior fellow of the National Housing Institute, is the author of many works on housing and planning, including Bringing Buildings Back and Building a Better Urban Future: New Directions for Housing Policies in Weak Market Cities. He served as director of housing and economic development for Trenton, N.J. from 1990 to 1999. He is also a fellow at the Center for Community Progress and the Brookings Institution.

Published by the National Housing Institute