Northwest oregon housing authority: "widespread regulatory noncompliance with other vital programs and services, mismanagement of funds, improper record-keeping and unsafe property conditions for units."

The former executive director of the Northwest Oregon Housing Authority has warned the agency she plans to sue for wrongful discharge and other claims.

The housing authority's board voted to terminate Elissa Gertler’s contract early without cause following an executive session on March 23 via Zoom.

The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority terminated the contract of its executive director.

At the time, the agency declined to comment or share any information publicly about the abrupt decision.

On Monday, Gertler, through her attorney, sent the agency a tort claim notice citing wrongful discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract.

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Gertler alleges the termination occurred after she opposed what she believed to be "waste and gross mismanagement of public resources" and raised concerns about the housing authority's "operation of unsafe and uninhabitable public housing units."

The housing authority, which develops low-income housing and provides other critical housing assistance to residents in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties, declined to comment on the tort claim notice.

Gertler, the former planning and development director for Oregon Metro, was hired as the housing authority's executive director last June at a time when the board was looking for a leader to move the agency forward after years of turmoil.

The housing authority had been working with Quadel, a Washington, D.C., based management and consulting firm, since 2020 to address its troubled housing choice voucher program.

Jim Evans, a director at Quadel, served as the agency’s interim executive director after Todd Johnston, the previous executive director, resigned without explanation. During his time in leadership, Evans helped stabilize operations at the organization and brought the housing choice voucher program into compliance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Evans was reappointed as interim executive director following Gertler's termination last week.

In the tort claim notice, Diane Sykes, the Portland-based employment attorney representing Gertler, said that after Gertler began work, she found additional "widespread regulatory noncompliance with other vital programs and services, mismanagement of funds, improper record-keeping and unsafe property conditions for units."

In the notice, Sykes said she contacted Andrea Coit, the housing authority's attorney, by phone and email on March 17 to discuss Gertler's concerns. She said she also alerted Coit to retaliation Gertler claimed to have been experiencing as a result of opposing what she believed to be the agency's unlawful practices.

Sykes claimed the retaliation escalated after Gertler presented a PowerPoint during a public meeting where she discussed her concerns and was allegedly met with "intense hostility" by the board. The PowerPoint was presented during a board work session on March 14, according to Gertler.

Sykes said that when Coit responded to her correspondence on March 20, they discussed the issues in more detail.

Sykes said Coit notified her that the board would be meeting on March 23 and would update her on how Gertler's concerns would be addressed.

On Friday, Sykes said Gertler learned that the board held a special meeting and executive session on March 23 and voted to terminate her contract.

In the notice to Coit, Sykes said, "To be clear, your assertion that Ms. Gertler's involuntary termination was to effectuate her desire to conclude her employment with (the housing authority) is a misrepresentation and a pretext justification for unlawfully terminating Ms. Gertler for opposing (the housing authority's) unlawful practices."