By Kevin Coughlin
If any more rough stuff erupts at the Morristown Housing Authority, someone else will have to deal with it.
Frank Vitolo, the commissioner credited with shielding another commissioner from an alleged assault at a heated meeting in September, is stepping down.
He cited work and family obligations in a letter to MHA Executive Director Roy Rogers just before Christmas.
“Being a citizen volunteer is not easy, particularly with the demands of a full-time job, numerous other community responsibilities and two young children. In the new year, I intend to focus more time and energy on work and family,” wrote Vitolo, a lawyer with Riker Danzig.
Appointed by Gov. Chris Christie, Vitolo was a holdover on the unpaid seven-member board.
BACKED REFORMS
His departure comes as the authority — which manages 470 public housing apartments and 184 Section 8 vouchers for rental subsidies– is under investigation by federal inspectors.
Vitolo had continued serving as a holdover, he said, “to ensure that the Board enact certain reforms that I believe will improve the operation of the Housing Authority and further its mission, which is to provide decent, safe and affordable housing.”
He voted to extend Rogers’ contract for a year, and to prohibit travel to out-of-state conferences by commissioners.
And, according to a police report filed by fellow commissioner Mary Dougherty, Vitolo protected her from potential injury when he stepped in front of irate Commissioner Dorothy Holman in a closed session.
Holman has called the account “a bunch of lies.”
Vitolo is Morristown’s Republican chairman; Dougherty is the town’s Democratic chair, and the wife of Mayor Tim Dougherty.
Mary Dougherty quit the authority in October amid questions about whether she had completed required training within a prescribed period. The state Department of Community Affairs later ruled that she indeed had been qualified to serve.
This month, the town council appointed Teresa Rodriguez, a resident of senior housing, to Mary Dougherty’s seat, and reappointed MHA Chairman Mike Cherello.
Rogers described Vitolo as a “very supportive board member who worked for the the best interests of the residents.”
“He was very professional and knowledgeable,” the executive director said.
Frank deserves our thanks for his service. Morristown is a very special community because of its unpaid volunteers. We have so many, who devote many long hours of their time, serving our community, often with little recognition.