Copyright Arkansas Online
Your browser does not support the audio element. Members of the Little Rock housing authority's board of commissioners on Friday voted to recommend that Keith Fountain be appointed to a five-year term on the board. Fountain's appointment to the five-member board is subject to the approval of the Little Rock Board of Directors. Under state law, if the Board of Directors does not confirm or reject the appointment within 45 days of receiving written notice of it, Fountain will be deemed to be confirmed. Fountain, 54, who is in the logistics and trucking field, would occupy the seat currently held by Karen Buchanan, who joined the board in October 2023. In late September, Buchanan's reappointment to a full term received the unanimous support of the housing authority's board, but the Board of Directors on Oct. 6 voted to deny her reappointment, with two board members expressing a desire for a commissioner with a business background. The vote was 6-2 against Buchanan's reappointment, with two board members absent. Buchanan later appeared before the Board of Directors to push back on the idea that she lacked business experience. Her term expired Sept. 30, but sitting commissioners continue serving until a successor is appointed, per state law. Following an executive session during an Oct. 23 meeting of the housing authority's board, Bruce James, the chair, said three candidates to replace Buchanan had been selected to be interviewed. On Friday, commissioners entered executive session to interview those candidates behind closed doors. After they returned from executive session, Fountain's nomination received three votes, from commissioners Bruce James, Stacie Brown and Buchanan. Brent Cryder's nomination received two votes, from commissioners Monty Baugh and Kerry Wright. Stanley Hill's nomination received no votes. James and Baugh recently took over as chair and vice chair, respectively, for Wright and Buchanan as a result of officer elections that were held on Oct. 23. All five sitting commissioners joined the panel between 2023 and 2024. As the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ramped up scrutiny of the housing authority in 2023, designating the agency as "troubled," the city's Board of Directors responded by ousting commissioners H. Lee Lindsey and Leta Anthony while retaining Wright, who was the newest commissioner at the time. Lindsey and Anthony were serving as chair and vice chair, respectively.
