Rowry Lashes Out At Criticism Of Model Cities Board
Rowry Lashes Out At Criticism Of Model Cities Board
By Glen Harris
(City Government Reporter)
Ezra Rowry, chairman of the Model Cities Policy Board, has lashed out at recent criticisms of the board and himself by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In a letter to John E. Kane, acting HUD area director, Rowry has denied mishandling any Model Cities money and accused both city and HUD officials of trying to control the Policy Board.
The chairman was replying to a letter Mayor James E. Stephenson received from HUD criticizing the makeup and operation of the board and accusing Rowry of improperly executing a Model Cities contract for $13,659.
Kane maintained in his letter that because of deficiencies in the board’s operation there "is a lack of widespread citizens participation and the domination of the citizen participation process by only a few individuals.” He also directed the city to prepare a proposal for revising the citizen participation structure of the program.
Rowry's response included the charge that “both local and national HUD offices as well as the city have tried but failed to designate Policy Board members by use of forte and coercion. If HUD or any of its, intermediaries want Ezra Rowry off the board or want to rid the program of what they think is the (Albert) Wheeler (Policy Board member) influence, the best and perhaps only ways to do it are either to cancel the program or resort to stealth and deception such as that used by the national administration in the last Presidential election.”
He added, “Personally, I know you people do not have the guts to spell out in writing what you say by inference.”
Concerning Kane’s directive that the city revise the citizen participation component of the Model Cities program, Rowry said “If James Stephenson, mayor of the city of Ann Arbor, takes any action to further deplete citizen participation in this program I will recommend that the Policy Board seek advice from our attorney as to what action we should take.”
The Policy Board already has one law-spit pending against the city and HUD claiming they are illegally trying to take away the board’s authority. The board lost the first round in the suit but it is now under appeal.
Rowry also accuses Kane of lying twice in his letter. The chairman did so in refuting assertions that only three members of the board, two of them recent appointees, are “members in good standing.” “The members of the Model Cities Policy Board have served this program and this city very well,” Rowry said, “above and beyond what is required." He also maintained there are nine board members in “good standing.”
To the HUD charge that there is no way for the board membrs to be held accountable for their actions, Rowry replied that board members are elected, have more public hearings on program changes than HUD or City Council, and have surveyed the community on certain questions.
“I often wonder why we continue to make ourselves available to the residents and the general public in view of the city and HUD’s actions which stripped the board of its power and in view of the varieties of abuse we must take in this losing cause.”
Rowry denied that he illegally executed the $13,659 contract, saying: “Everything that was done with respect to a contract with any organization was done with approval of City Hall with some consultation with and concurrence of the area office and approved by our board.” He added that he “has never handled any Model Cities or HUD funds. I make this statement because little people tend to get smaller when there is a question regarding the handling of money because there seemed to be the inference that (I) might have mishandled some HUD funds.”