NHA board prez defends Hawaii trip

CHINLE

The Navajo Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners knew it was going to get some backlash for planning to attend a conference in Hawaii.

“I was even against it at first,” said Board President Ervin Chavez. “But then I thought, ‘We have some serious business to do, and we shouldn’t avoid this conference just because it’s in a place people are going to judge us for going.’”

The board struggled with the decision, Chavez said, but ended up deciding in a split vote to attend the 2016 Amerind/National American Indian Housing Council conference next month in Honolulu.

The social media backlash was almost instantaneous.

“If you look on their agenda, you see nothing but travel,” posted former commissioner Shawnevan Dale. “Wow this new NHA board must be living it up!”

Countered Chavez, “We’re not going there to lie on the beach and sun ourselves.”

On the contrary, he said the board has two good reasons to go to Hawaii besides the conference, which he said will provide some good training for the new board members.

For one, Hawaii’s Native housing program is hanging up the reauthorization of the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act, which funds NHA.

“Two senators are holding up the legislation,” Chavez said. “One is Senator Ted Cruz and the other is Senator Mike Lee of Utah.”

Lee, Chavez said, has issues with the Hawaii portion of the funding.

“We have a meeting already scheduled with the Hawaiian delegation so we can talk to them about what the issues are and whether we can work together to advocate,” Chavez said.

---