MILWAUKEE — The Office of the Mayor confirmed to Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin that Willie Hines, the secretary-executive director of the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) will retire at the end of the year.

Hines was appointed to the position in March 2022. He previously served as HACM’s associate director. Before joining HACM, he was president of Milwaukee Common Council and an alderman. However, his leadership term at HACM has been at the helm of controversy.

There have been several public calls for him to resign amid frequent resident complaints about unsafe, unhealthy and even “uninhabitable” living conditions.

Auditors are investigating potential fraud within HACM, after finding several million dollars in “variances” in its bank account.

According to HACM’s website, it oversees more than 4,000 affordable housing units for low-income households, elderly residents and disabled adults. HACM also provides housing assistance via its Housing Choice Voucher Program to another nearly 6,000 households in the city.

Common Ground, an advocacy group, called Hines’ resignation an “essential” part of its campaign to reform HACM, saying in-part:

“‘Today is a momentous day for Milwaukee,”’ says Kevin Solomon, Associate Organizer for Common Ground. ‘David beat Goliath. Thousands of low-income housing residents and Common Ground banded together for over 2 years to challenge entrenched and powerful interests, and fight for better living conditions. We overcame skepticism, doubt, secrecy, and special interests. And we won.’

“Common Ground has accomplished an essential objective in our ‘Tenants United’ campaign to reform the Housing Authority: Willie Hines is resigning as Executive Director. ‘The next step is for the HACM Board to conduct a national search for a new, competent, service-oriented director to clean up the mess,’ says Jennifer O’Hear, Common Ground’s Lead Organizer. 

“‘Common Ground knows how to take on dominant, unaccountable power—and win,’ says Rev. Will Davis, Pastor of Invisible Reality Ministries and Member of Common Ground’s Executive Team. ‘We saw injustice and knew we had to work with the residents to change things.’

“‘Nobody believed us tenants at first. It was our word against Hines’,’ says Roye ‘Chris’ Logan, Resident President of Mitchell Court. ‘After we made clear that our concerns are real, we were told we would never get rid of Hines. But guess what? We are Common Ground! We never give up, and we never go away.’”