The San Luis Obispo City Council removed a member of the Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners Monday, citing allegations of misconduct and racially discriminatory remarks.
The Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo, or HASLO, received reports alleging Tenant Commissioner Nancy Welsh misrepresented her role as a member of the board to her fellow tenants at her housing site.
Several neighbors told HASLO that they felt intimidated by Welsh after she suggested her role on the board could “affect their housing status.”
Michelle Pedigo, the Executive Director of HASLO, said that she repeatedly requested that Commissioner Welsh stop behaving as if she was agency staff.
“We did an investigation of every incident,” Pedigo told the council. “We had enough people saying that this happened that we really had no reason to believe that it didn't happen.”
There were also complaints that she identified herself as a property manager and allowed someone with an active arrest warrant to stay in an empty unit without a background check.
In another reported incident, Welsh allegedly pepper sprayed a neighbor’s guest.
Commissioner Welsh also spoke at the meeting. She said she served with integrity and she should have had more opportunities to respond to the accusations.
“The information being presented is inaccurate,” Commissioner Welsh said. “I have not participated in the actions I'm accused of.”
HASLO owns and operates 168 apartments in San Luis Obispo through the Public Housing Program. The Board of Commissioners approves the agency’s annual budget and sets policy but their role as commissioners doesn’t make them supervisors or HASLO staff.
