JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Housing Authority’s (JHA) top choice to become its new CEO, George Guy, unexpectedly withdrew his candidacy for the position on Friday.
Contract negotiations had been underway for the last few weeks for Guy who is the current head of the Fort Wayne, Indiana Housing Authority. The negotiations with Guy came to a halt after he countered with demands several board members said were “shocking”.
One JHA board member called Guy’s contract demands “pretty out of line” and said he did not show good faith.
Guy had been offered a base salary of $310,000 but he also wanted to provide consulting services on evenings, weekends or vacation time, would not commit to relocating to Jacksonville within six months and a credit card for $25,000 to be used solely for his relocation expenses.
He also demanded a $300,000 buyout if he were to be fired in the first year of his agreement and a $200,000 buyout if he was fired at a later time. What stood out the most to some was that “disgraceful conduct” and “insubordination” would not be grounds for getting fired, according to his demands.
Board members agreed that JHA could not meet Guy’s demands and needed to protect the agency.
The board said it will now look to extend the contract of Interim President/CEO Roslyn Mixon-Phillips who took over the agency after a series of resignations from the top spot.
Vanessa Dunn was named acting CEO in February of last year after former JHA CEO Dwayne Alexander resigned in January claiming he was being “pushed out.” But Dunn resigned in August before her contract ran out.
The JHA board said it’s moving forward, and has reached out to its second candidate-of-choice, Cheron Corbett Waller. According to the resume and cover letter she submitted when applying for the job, she’s with the DuPage and Kendall County Housing Authorities.
The board says it is planning to meet again next time to talk about the next steps.
