Championing Housing Justice: Bullard Center GRA Ed Pettitt’s Role in Exposing Affordable Housing Fraud at Midtown Redevelopment Authority

Championing Housing Justice: Bullard Center GRA Ed Pettitt’s Role in Exposing Affordable Housing Fraud at Midtown Redevelopment Authority

In a significant win for housing justice, Ed Pettitt, a Graduate Research Assistant at the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University, has played a pivotal role in uncovering and addressing pervasive affordable housing fraud at the Midtown Redevelopment Authority (MRA). The recent indictment of three individuals, including former real estate manager Todd Edwards, marks a crucial step in holding those responsible accountable for their misuse of taxpayer funds intended for affordable housing initiatives.

The Unveiling of Fraud

The fraud allegations, involving the theft of $8.5 million allocated for affordable housing, have sent shockwaves through the Houston community. According to the reports, Edwards, alongside two MRA contractors, engaged in elaborate schemes to siphon off funds meant to provide housing for low-income families. This scandal not only underscores the vulnerability of public funds to corruption but also highlights the critical need for vigilant oversight in housing development projects.

Ed Pettitt's journey to uncover this fraud began in 2016 when he purchased a home in Houston’s Third Ward adjacent to an MRA-owned lot that was rarely mowed. "I noticed something was awry when the lot next to my house remained unkempt despite multiple violation notices from the city’s Department of Neighborhoods," Pettitt recalled. This initial observation set the stage for a deeper investigation into MRA’s activities.

The Quest for Accountability

In 2017, Pettitt became Chair of the Parks and Neighborhood Character work group for Third Ward Complete Communities. He began organizing clean-ups of MRA-owned lots, many of which were filled with trash, old mattresses, drug paraphernalia, and animal carcasses. In 2019, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Center and Sankofa Research Institute published findings from a comprehensive door-to-door needs assessment survey conducted with 1,616 heads of households in Third Ward. "Vacant lots" was identified as the number one concern among respondents, with "crime" following closely behind as the second most pressing issue. Indeed, the hundreds of vacants lots in Third Ward, most of which are owned by MRA, are considered by local residents to be synonymous with crime due to the high prevalence of illegal dumping, squatting, sexual violence, and drug dealing that occur on these lots.

Pettitt's suspicions deepened over the years as he attended MRA board meetings and scrutinized their annual audits. These audits showed more than $3 million spent annually on landscaping. When Pettitt and his neighbors confronted Todd Edwards at one of these board meetings, Edwards downplayed their concerns and requested that they email him if they had a problem with a specific lot. Some local leaders accused Pettitt and other whistleblowers of being conspiracy theorists or anti-affordable housing for questioning the integrity of Edwards and the MRA. In a Facebook post, the president of the Greater Third Ward Super Neighborhood at the time asked, “What is the objective with all this that you post about the conspiracy and scandal of MRA?”

By 2022, Pettitt's concerns had grown, leading him to reach out to Urban Reform, a local think tank and blog, to assist with a Public Information Act request. The request uncovered hundreds of receipts for MRA's lawn maintenance expenditures. Realizing the magnitude of the fraud, Pettitt collaborated with another Third Ward resident, Brian Van Tubergan, to sift through the receipts and track the paper trail of MRA’s invoices and deposits. When Pettitt and Van Tubergan compared these invoices with Google Street View images, they discovered that MRA was paying for mowing that wasn't happening and the demolition of buildings and structures that didn't exist. "It was shocking to see the discrepancies between the claimed work and the reality," Pettitt noted.

Pettitt also followed up on a tip from a Facebook thread that led to smoking gun evidence in the form of text messages and checks, revealing that Todd Edwards was indeed self-dealing. Pettitt and Van Tubergan meticulously cataloged the evidence of fraud and ultimately sent their findings to the City of Houston Office of Inspector General. This persistent collaboration was crucial in building a robust case against those involved in the scheme.

In November 2022, Pettitt became vice president of the Greater Third Ward Super Neighborhood, finding support in the new president, Ken Rodgers. Together, they delivered a comprehensive list of demands to the MRA, which they are still pushing through the board as well as MRA’s non-profit contractor for the affordable housing program, the Center for Civic and Public Policy Improvement (CCPPI):

1. No additional funding earmarked for affordable housing should be spent on office space, parking garages, murals, or non-housing construction and associated infrastructure until the remaining lots have been conveyed.

2. The MRA Housing Plan should be updated, including the timeline for property conveyance and development. All lots that are approximately 5,000 sqft should be targeted for single-family houses owned by fee simple homeowners.

3. Remaining properties should either be conveyed to developers in the next 5 years or be transferred to the Houston Land Bank, Houston Land Trust, Houston Housing Authority, or qualified CDCs.

4. MRA should give due notice to the Super Neighborhood of additional property acquisitions, sales, or conveyances.

5. Properties adjacent to parks or trails, such as the Columbia Tap, should be developed in a way that orientates the homes and enhances connectivity to these public spaces.

6. Properties along Emancipation Avenue should be developed in consultation with the Emancipation Economic Development Council (EEDC).

“Affordable housing is essential for a stable and healthy community, and it’s disheartening to see it exploited for personal gain,” Pettitt emphasized. “We need to create structures that prioritize transparency, community engagement, and accountability to prevent similar incidents.”

Should MRA fail to respond to these requests in a timely and satisfactory manner, Pettitt and Rodgers are prepared to advocate with the governing authorities for conveyance to the Houston Land Bank and/or Houston Housing Authority, via their eminent domain power if necessary.

The Broader Implications

The exposure of this fraud case is not just about prosecuting the wrongdoers; it’s about addressing the larger systemic issues that allow such malfeasance to occur. Pettitt has been vocal about the need for robust oversight mechanisms and community involvement in redevelopment projects. He believes that empowering local residents to participate in decision-making processes can serve as a deterrent to future corruption.

In April 2024, the Bullard Center hosted an Affordable Housing and Economic Opportunity Workshop in partnership with the University of Houston Community Design Resource Center and Friends of Columbia Tap. At this event, Pettitt and his colleagues launched the city’s first-ever Affordable Housing Dashboard. Developed with the GIS Lab at the University of Texas School of Public Health, this innovative tool helps residents and advocates track properties earmarked for affordable housing, including those owned and conveyed by MRA. “The dashboard is a game-changer,” Pettitt remarked. “It provides transparency and empowers the community to hold authorities accountable.”

Moving Forward

As the legal process unfolds, Pettitt and his colleagues at the Bullard Center continue to advocate for reforms in the way the City and Local Government Corporations handle public funds for affordable housing and other projects. They are pushing for comprehensive audits, stricter compliance measures, and greater community oversight to safeguard public resources.

“The indictment is just the beginning,” Pettitt asserted. “Our fight for housing justice continues, and we are committed to ensuring that affordable housing initiatives truly benefit those they are meant to serve.”

Conclusion

Ed Pettitt’s dedication to exposing the fraud at the Midtown Redevelopment Authority exemplifies the critical role that community leaders and advocates play in upholding housing justice. His efforts remind us of the importance of vigilance, transparency, and community involvement in safeguarding public resources. As Houston moves forward from this scandal, the lessons learned will undoubtedly contribute to stronger, more equitable housing policies and practices.

For more details on the case, refer to the following articles:
Houston Chronicle: https://bit.ly/MRAindictment
ABC13 News: https://tinyurl.com/4c57aaxb
Houston Landing: https://houstonlanding.org/mra-corruption-charges