Resident Judith Fay retires from SHA
Board of Commissioners

Fifteen apply for open position

SEATTLE—May 1, 2006—After a decade of serving on the Seattle Housing Authority Board of Commissioners and over 30 years as a High Point resident and leader, Judith Fay is moving on.

"It's time for me to retire," said Fay, 65, adding that she has relocated to Oregon to live closer to her family.

The seven-member Board of Commissioners oversees the operations and management of the Housing Authority. Members are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council.

The Mayor's office accepted applications for Fay's position in March. Fifteen residents applied, and the seat will likely be filled by early summer.

During her tenure on the board, Fay said she was happy to help guide the Housing Authority into a more proactive and businesslike stance.

"We have to be not so dependent on federal funds," she said. "We know the federal government is getting out of housing as fast as possible."

She added that she is especially proud of the work accomplished by SHA and the Board on the High Point redevelopment. "The whole mind set of the community has changed," she said. "We just wanted to make it a better place for the future."

Seattle Housing Authority Executive Director Tom Tierney credits Fay for having the vision and the heart to help lead this transformation. "Judy is leaving this entire city a marvelous legacy, both in the physical changes she helped bring to High Point and in the community she nurtured there," he said. "She has served SHA and its low-income residents extraordinarily well."

Before taking her volunteer position on the Board of Commissioners, Fay worked in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and served as president of High Point's resident management corporation, where she first got a taste of Seattle Housing Authority's budgets and financing.

Fay said she served so many years on the Board of Commissioners because it took time for her to become truly effective. "By the time you understand tax credits and bond financing--it takes four years to get up to speed," she said, adding that one of the challenges she faced was in not voting according to her own personal interests, but with the future of housing in mind. Still, she said, she always tried to represent the interests of her neighbors.

"I understood the residents' frustrations," she said. "I hope I helped to make sure the Housing Authority is a good landlord."

This article first appeared in the May 2006 issue of The Voice, Neighborhood House's community newspaper. Thanks to editor Stacy Schwandt for permission to reprint it here.