Two years after a A KPRC 2 investigation exposed millions in misspent federal housing dollars at the Houston Housing Authority, the man at the center of the scandal is running another housing agency — and the federal investigators who swooped in have yet to say a word publicly.
David Northern, who resigned as president and CEO of the Houston Housing Authority amid an investigation into his spending, was hired as CEO of the Flint, Michigan Housing Commission — putting him back in charge of the same type of federal dollars he had been accused of misusing in Houston.
SEE MORE: KPRC 2 Investigation into the Houston Housing Authority
A familiar name helped him land the job
The person who helped bring Northern to Flint appears to have had a prior financial relationship with him in Houston.
Damon Duncan served as interim CEO of the Flint Housing Commission and announced on LinkedIn that his company helped recruit Northern for the role.
Records obtained through an open records request show that just seven months before Northern’s hire in Flint, Northern signed a Houston Housing Authority check paying Duncan nearly $13,000. The memo line on the check noted the payment was for “technical assistance at a Cuney Homes on-site visit.”
Duncan did not return calls for comment.
Northern did not respond either.
Neither did the mayor of Flint.
Houston’s mayor weighs in
Houston Mayor John Whitmire does not oversee the Houston Housing Authority directly. The agency is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is governed by an independent board — one the mayor appoints.
“I think everybody should be held accountable. But I just can’t speak to Flint. HUD has all of our records. We’re pretty clear that we think they should review them carefully,” Whitmire said.
The mayor was quick to note that the board members who hired Northern in 2022 were appointed by his predecessor.
“One thing, when I watch your reports, I always will say, come on, Amy (Davis). Emphasize this was all before I got here,” Whitmire said.
When Whitmire took office in January 2024, one of his first actions was replacing the Housing Authority board members. That new board launched the investigation into Northern that ultimately led to his resignation.
“I got him off his position, the CEO of the board as quick as possible, replaced it with some fine Houstonians,” Whitmire said.
When asked whether Northern was fit to lead a housing authority in another city, Whitmire didn’t hold back.
“Flint, Michigan, I can’t speak for them, if they would have done their due diligence and been above board, I don’t believe Mr. Northern would be fit for that job. Based on his record here,” the mayor said.
Federal investigators and a frustrating silence
The FBI and HUD’s Office of Inspector General were among the agencies examining the Houston Housing Authority’s records.
“The FBI was there, OIG of HUD. I would assume it gets all the way up to the top, the secretary,” Whitmire said, when asked specifically which law enforcement agencies were investigating Northern’s actions at HHA.
When asked whether HUD’s inspector general was tracking Northern’s move to Flint, the agency responded: “It is the policy of the HUD OIG to neither confirm nor deny any investigative actions that may or may not be underway.”
For Whitmire, the lack of communication from federal agencies has been its own source of frustration.
“We send the files, and then nothing. You know what’s even frustrating? How about just a report? What if they said, we don’t like what we see, but it hadn’t reached a certain level?” Whitmire said.
“They just leave you in limbo, but I do my job and then I move on to the next challenge,” he added.
The Flint Housing Commission has since developed its own financial scandal.
Signs of progress in Houston
The newly restructured Houston Housing Authority — now rebranded as Housing Alliance HTX — has passed new rules governing credit card purchases and financial oversight. Spending on those cards is down 58% since Northern’s departure.
At Cuney Homes, Larry Grisby said the new administration eventually installed missing tables and benches at the pocket park Northern’s contractor had left unfinished.
“Yeah, I sit out here every morning. I used to clean it. I ain’t got no rags,” Grisby said with a laugh.
At Kelly Village, some windows remain boarded up — but residents say crews have been slowly replacing the windows the previous contractors removed.
Grisby said he never expected Northern to resurface in another housing role.
“I was saying to myself, ‘He’ll never work for housing no more. Never,’” Grisby said. “Cause what he did, you know. Things that he did.”
The original investigation: What KPRC 2 uncovered
More than a quarter of renters in Harris County spend over half their income on housing. For thousands of Houstonians on waiting lists for federal rental assistance, every dollar counts — which is what made the findings so striking.
The original KPRC 2 investigation found Northern spent millions of federal dollars on expenses that had nothing to do with helping families.
Housing Authority credit card statements showed Northern’s senior policy advisor, Na’Shon Edwards, spent more than $9,400 dining out — including at least six visits to Steak 48. Nearly $100,000 was spent on travel. Northern himself charged more than $2,300 for workout equipment and another $2,300 for chair massages for employees at work.
“It means a lot. It means almost a few months of rent paying,” said Janet Hoffart, who relies on housing subsidies and receives about $1,600 a month in disability and Social Security payments.
“I am one illness away from losing everything. I am one disability check from losing everything,” said Jessica, who was waiting on a housing voucher at the time of the investigation.
A cooling project that left residents in the cold
One project meant to help public housing residents beat the Houston heat ended up making their homes less safe.
Northern hired contractors to install window air conditioning units in every apartment at Kelly Village, Cuney Homes and Irvington Village — Houston’s three public housing communities. The investigation found Northern went more than $3 million over budget, hiring inexperienced contractors who blocked fire escapes during installation.
“I thought it was a good thing, until you know, everything transpired,” said Shamica Killings, who worked at Kelly Village during the project.
To fix the fire hazards, crews had to remove the newly installed units — but the original windows had already been discarded. Workers boarded them up and moved on.
Northern hired 22 different companies to install the units. One supervisor, who made $75 an hour working for one of those companies, started his own company just four months later. Northern then awarded that new company more than $1 million to fix the fire hazard issues the original project had created.
One of the companies hired for the AC installation was a clothing company based in Chicago — connected to a Housing Authority employee Northern had recently brought on from Chicago.
“That’s odd because you would expect to want to hire companies that had the experience to do the job, and you would want to go local,” said Houston City Council member Julian Ramirez. “Houston’s a huge city. We have plenty of companies that can do good AC work, so why would you have to go to Illinois?”
Incomplete park, silenced employees, a growing tab
Here’s more on the park project mentioned above. Residents at Cuney Homes were also left with an incomplete pocket park — missing tables, benches and lighting — even after records showed Northern approved paying the contractor more than $766,000.
“There’s supposed to be two benches. Supposed to have been a bench here and a bench right here. And there’s supposed to have been a table right here,” said Larry Grisby, a Cuney Homes resident.
The spending didn’t stop there.
Northern paid out $289,133 in settlements to housing executives he dismissed — always keeping payouts just under the $100,000 threshold that would have required board approval. Every employee who received a settlement signed a non-disclosure agreement.
In February 2024, Northern announced that funding for housing vouchers for low-income families had run out. Around the same time, he distributed more than $166,000 in raises to five employees in a single round of increases.
When the investigation added it all up, the total tied to mismanagement, waste or questionable decisions surpassed $4 million.
Suspension, resignation — and six-figure payouts
Within six weeks of the investigation’s publication, the Housing Authority board voted to suspend Northern with pay while it conducted its own review. Northern ultimately resigned. The board also eliminated the position held by Edwards.
Both left Texas — each with six-figure payouts. Northern received $210,252. Edwards received $27,692.
The total connected to Northern’s tenure, including those payouts: more than $4.2 million.
KPRC 2 will continue to follow this story as federal investigators review the Houston Housing Authority’s records. Until those answers come, the team will keep pressing — because for the thousands of Houstonians still waiting on housing assistance, accountability isn’t optional. If you have a tip or question, email Investigator Amy Davis at ADavis@kprc.com.