Open Letter to Mayor Johnson — Why Are You Protecting Willie Hines?

Open Letter to Mayor Johnson — ‘Why Are You Protecting Willie Hines?’

By Jeramey Jannene

The broad coalition pushing for improvement to the beleaguered Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) is substantially ramping up its call for the ouster of agency leader Willie Hines, Jr.

Common Ground Southeastern Wisconsin issued an open letter to Mayor Cavalier Johnson Thursday morning calling for the mayor to drop his support of Hines.

“Mayor Johnson, why do you continue to protect Willie Hines, the Executive Director of HACM? For over a year we have been publicly asking for help with bed bugs, rats, black mold, abusive managers, rent mismanagement, and crime in our buildings. We have told our stories. We have shown videos. We have compiled reports. Yet you have done nothing to help us. Instead, you have stood by Hines while he has driven HACM—and our quality of life—into the ground,” says the letter, which lists 190 HACM residents as signatories.

Despite public revelations of service breakdowns within HACM, Johnson has steadfastly stood by Hines. “They are headed in the right direction, and I have confidence in the agency’s leadership,” said the mayor in his March State of the City speech. He said he was keeping a “close eye” on HACM and monitoring U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports on the agency.

Common Ground went public with its campaign in March 2023, and has secured a series of improvements. Changes include the city closing a loophole where HACM inspected its own properties and the council allocating limited city resources to make property repairs.

Its latest letter, which lays out problems and a timeline of issues within the agency, says real improvement cannot happen until “competent senior leadership” is in place.