AURORA | The Aurora Housing Authority board of directors has appointed interim chief Steve Blackstock permanently as executive director of the organization.
“Steve’s extensive experience in social work and family services, combined with his deep understanding of AHA’s mission and community needs, makes him the ideal candidate to lead us into our next chapter,” AHA Board Chairperson Barbara Cleland said in a statement. “His clear vision for the future of affordable housing and his commitment to innovation and equity stood out in our selection process.”
The Aurora Housing Authority owns and manages apartments and townhomes in Aurora, most of which are reserved for households earning less than 60% of the area median income — $54,780 for a single person and $62,640 for a household of two in Arapahoe County. The agency also administers federal Section 8 housing vouchers and develops affordable housing using federal, state and local grants.
The appointment comes after more than a year of controversy at the authority prompted by allegations among some city lawmakers that the current board was sometimes unfriendly to developers.
Friction between the former executive director, board members and some city lawmakers resulted in city council members enacting appointment rule changes last year in an effort to oust some board members.
The Housing Authority, in turn, sued the city and prevailed, according to authority officials.
The city has since appealed the loss, according to officials.
The rule changes passed last summer by the council would require that appointments to the seven-member housing authority board be made by a majority of the council rather than unilaterally by the mayor, which was the previous, and still standing, policy.
City lawmakers also specified that the board should include a certain number of members with a background in the affordable housing business, finance and property development as well as personal experience living in affordable housing or being homeless.
Previously, the only prerequisite for service on the board was that members be Aurora residents registered to vote in the city. The structure of terms for board members has also been overhauled, permitting members to serve no more than two, three-year terms rather than an unlimited number of five-year terms.
For current members, depending on when their terms end, that could mean serving four years rather than the five years they were originally appointed for, a detail that was singled out for scrutiny in the authority’s June 28, 2024 lawsuit.
“This sweeping initiative has the potential for destructive effects upon the organization’s operating independence and the financial integrity of future housing projects,” the board said in a July 2, 2024 statement. “The ability of enacted public housing authorities to conduct their vital work independent of the varying political motivations of elected officials is exactly what the Housing Authorities Law is designed to protect.”
Controversy erupted over the proposed nomination changes came to light when former Authority CEO Craig Maraschky warned city lawmakers about the risks of making the agency or its leadership structure appear unstable to project investors.
In a May 10, 2024 email that Mayor Mike Coffman and Councilmember Alison Coombs shared with the Sentinel last year, Maraschky claimed the draft proposal had already spooked the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, which he said had “terminated” its involvement with the redevelopment of Residences at Willow Park as well as the pending Gateway Park and Sanctuary on Potomac developments.
“Investors and lenders with a financial stake in affordable housing developments cannot risk their funds by working with organizations that do not have a proven leadership structure,” Maraschky wrote.
“It is unfortunate that AHA was not consulted in any manner on the draft ordinance. The consequences have been and will continue to be severe to the development of affordable housing in the City of Aurora.”
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority had awarded about $1.5 million in tax credits and construction-to-permanent financing worth about $23.9 million for the Willow Park redevelopment as well as nearly $1.5 million in grant funding to buy land for Gateway Park.
Aurora’s Housing Authority has also applied for a tax credit for the proposed Sanctuary on Potomac affordable housing development, which would be located on Aurora Mental Health and Recovery’s new Crisis and Acute Care Campus.
When asked about Maraschky’s statements, a spokesperson for the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Matt Lynn, said the agency had not halted its involvement with any of the three projects.
Coffman told the Sentinel last yer that he made a similar inquiry himself after receiving the email from Maraschky, and that the state authority’s executive director, Cris White, said Maraschky had admitted to intentionally misrepresenting the status of the project.
“This has to (be) one of the most bizarre things that has happened to me in all my years in American government,” Coffman wrote in an email. “Without question, in my view, this rises to a level where Craig needs to resign.”
Maraschky resigned late last year, and Blackstock was appointed interim director.
Blackstock has been with the Aurora Housing Authority since 2016 in a variety of leadership positions, officials there said.
He also has experience as a social worker, a pastor and a homelessness services provider.
Cleland said he strengthens the authority’s commitment to providing housing to vulnerable populations, including veterans, foster-family children and families facing medical challenges.
“Mr. Blackstock’s background includes pastoral leadership in churches across Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Colorado,” Authority spokesperson Hannah Han said in a statement. “He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Northern Colorado, a Master of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver and he serves on the Arapahoe County Community Services Block Grant Advisory Committee.”