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Committee vets DCHA nominees as board reports rising occupancy and capital plans
Summary
The Committee on Housing heard testimony from DCHA nominees Theresa Scylla and Christopher Murphy. Scylla emphasized resident engagement and homeless preference implementation; Murphy reviewed DCHA's recovery progress—occupancy near 87%, voucher utilization above 100%—and outlined an 18‑property modernization plan funded largely by $700M in revenue bonds.
Theresa Scylla and Christopher Murphy were sworn and testified before the Committee on Housing as nominees to fill seats on the DC Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Scylla described her role as director of Ending Homelessness and her work on resident engagement through block‑by‑block events and STAR board experience.
Christopher Murphy, renominated by the mayor, cited measurable agency improvements since his board tenure: public housing occupancy at about 87%, federal voucher utilization at 103%, and LRSP utilization at 98%. He highlighted completed and ongoing capital projects including Berry Farm and Park Morton redevelopments and an Urgent Needs campaign that has used more than $60 million to repair occupied and vacant units.
Murphy and Scylla told the committee they will prioritize audit findings closure, ensuring lease‑up pace, stronger resident communications and careful governance of proposed $700 million industrial revenue bond financing being used for multi‑phase modernization across roughly 3,500 distressed units. Committee members pressed the nominees on metrics for accountability and on transition planning ahead of the agency's next executive director process. The committee did not vote during the hearing.
