AHA candidate Fontenot has Personal and Professional Experience

The Arlington Housing Authority provides housing to many in our community who now more than ever need our community support. These residents of Arlington deserve our attention and concern. In my experience, when you want to get something done, you really need to understand the complexities of the issues and the reality of how policies and regulations play out in the lives of real people--you need to connect with the people on the ground, the people who experience what is working and what isn’t working on a daily basis. Through her personal experience with housing instability and her significant professional experience as a housing advocate, Kelda Fontenot is the right person to get the work done. Kelda Fontenot knows what needs to be fixed, and she will dig in and get it done.

Kelda leans in and she listens. She is a passionate and experienced advocate for safe and affordable housing. She is intimately familiar with the recommendations of the League of Women Voters and will work to create: a streamlined, effective, well-documented complaint process; a culture where calls and emails are responded to promptly and courteously; and an informative, content-rich website and updated handbook. Kelda will prioritize creating accountability metrics such as tracking resident complaints to make sure issues are addressed. And Kelda will push for professional training of all AHA board members and employees on how best to interact with people with challenges including but not limited to hearing, sight, language, cultural, financial, religious and physical and mental abilities is completed.

As important as all the above specific priorities are, Kelda promises to amplify the voices of AHA residents so they are truly at the center of discussions and decisions affecting them. In the last year there have been positive changes in the Housing Authority brought about by new board members, but they need help, they need Kelda Fontenot. By supporting Kelda’s campaign, we can send the Board and, even more importantly, the AHA residents the help they need. Our votes for Kelda Fontenot will help improve the lives of over 1,500 AHA residents, including 400 children. Every day I know she will ask herself “ What can I do to make the lives of our residents better?”