Focus on what matters

SQUABBLING within the Toledo-Lucas County Homelessness Board can only detract from its vital mission of helping the estimated 3,000 homeless people in our community and preventing others from succumbing to that plight. Board members need to resolve their differences in a way that enhances, rather than obscures, public knowledge and support of the board's activities.

Late last week, the board deferred action on a proposal to remove board member Ken Leslie. Mr. Leslie's record of advocacy is well established. He has connected homeless Toledoans with service agencies for two decades. He helped create and get funding for the board that considered his dismissal.

Last month, Mr. Leslie led volunteers in conducting a census of homeless people in the Toledo area; that head count helps determine federal aid to homelessness programs. His supporters, many of whom are homeless or formerly so, call Mr. Leslie their friend.

The move to oust Mr. Leslie came partially in response to his allegation of conflict of interest against board colleague Paula Lewis. Ms. Lewis was hired last year to supervise a federally funded program run by Family Outreach Community United Services (FOCUS) aimed at preventing homelessness and helping homeless people find new housing quickly. Mr. Leslie wants the board to review her hiring, noting that she earlier helped FOCUS get a contract for the program.

Ms. Lewis' supporters deny any conflict and insist she remains the best candidate for the job. In a letter on this page, board president Paul Tecpanecatl says an unspecified outside body will examine the conflict-of-interest charge and that the board will take "appropriate action" if necessary.

That pledge needs to be kept.

Mr. Tecpanecatl insists that "more serious actions," not the conflict-of-interest dispute, led to calls for Mr. Leslie's removal. "The board is tired of his continued pattern of inappropriate behavior," he says.

But as board members sort out the charges and countercharges, it's troubling to hear how some of them define their roles and the board's performance. Mr. Tecpanecatl considered it an offense justifying his ouster that Mr. Leslie invited a Blade reporter to attend a public meeting of a board committee without notifying the board or its staff in advance.

He initially called Mr. Leslie's status a "private board matter. ... We wanted to avoid any media attention." Other board members and staff criticize Mr. Leslie's abrasive style and assail him for not being a "team player," as if that were the measure of his effectiveness.

The board now appears to acknowledge that the questions Mr. Leslie has raised, however they are resolved, at least warrant examination. More broadly, Mr. Leslie is correct: Board members need to concentrate not on their problems with each other, but on their collective ability to deliver services promptly, efficiently, and inclusively. Public accountability is a big part of that process.

The homelessness board is a public agency that administers public money to address an issue of urgent public concern. Efforts by some members of the board to discourage public attention to its activities are themselves bothersome, whatever Mr. Leslie may have done.