The executive director of the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) has resigned abruptly from his $260,000 a year job following an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, LouisianaVoice has learned.
Frederick Tombar, III was appointed to head LHC after passage of Senate Bill 269 by State Sen. Neil Riser in 2011. SB 269, which became Act 408 upon the signature of Bobby Jindal, consolidated three former agencies into one: the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, the Road Home Corporation, and Louisiana Land Trust. That consolidation became effective on Jan. 1, 2012.
Emails and telephone calls to LHC Tuesday by LouisianaVoice got no response but sources said that LHC Chairman and former Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster http://www.lhfa.state.la.us/index.cfm/page/117 had conducted an investigation into the allegations at the behest of the agency’s board of directors. http://www.lhfa.state.la.us/page/board-of-directors.
It was not immediately clear whether Tombar resigned voluntarily or was asked to step down. Nor did LHC respond to questions about whether or not Tombar’s resignation was effective immediately or when his last day on the job was.
Neither was it immediately clear as to the nature of the allegations or whether they involved an agency employee or employees.
He was appointed by Jindal in 2012 to execute the LHC strategic plan, to advise the board of directors on matters of policy and to manage day-to-day operations of the corporation. His $260,000 salary is twice what Jindal makes.
The LHC web page which is found under the heading of the Housing Finance Agency, which no longer exists, says that during fiscal year 2014, LHC built or rehabilitated 1,770 units of affordable housing and assisted 539 Louisiana residents in becoming first-time homeowners through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Soft Second Mortgage (SSM) and First-Time Homebuyers (FTHB) programs. LHC also assisted 1,130 Louisiana households in becoming more energy efficient through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and provided $33.5 million to ensure that more than 87,000 utility payments were made on behalf of distressed households, the web page says. http://lhc.la.gov/index.cfm/page/93
Prior to joining LHC, Tombar, a founding member and trustee of Advance Church of Silver Spring, Maryland, was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Senior Advisor to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan. In that capacity, he was responsible for leading the strategic direction, policy development, and assisting in the coordination of operations of HUD’s disaster and recovery programs.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Notre Dame University and later attended Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government where he earned a Master in Public Policy degree.
He directed the Road Home Program following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Road Home served as the largest single housing recovery program in U.S. history.
LHC has 125 employees and a payroll of more than $7.9 million. Besides Tombar, eight other employees make more than $100,000 per year. http://doa.louisiana.gov/boardsandcommissions/viewEmployees.cfm?board=273
Louisiana Voice 
This whole administration is corrupt. Wake up people! the GOP is nothing but a club for corruption!
I think that BOTH parties breed corruption. Placing blame on one party and not the other IS the problem.
And the repubs are the only party with corruption?
This is a singularly unimaginative comment. I agree with Bob N. And, yes, I am Republican–but I despise Jindal and his entire administration as well as the Legislature that continues to pander to his ego mania.
As I’ve said before, the Jindal administration is rotten from the head down.
Is there any polling being done to see if any of this bad news is affecting the popularity of the Republican Legislators? Surely, they will not escape the fall out from Jindal’s mess, which they helped him create!
Knowing how Jindal rolls I want to know how much Tombar contributed to Jindal’s money chest. But wait!! Now that the radical right Supremes have ruled corporations are people and Super PACS are no longer required to report contributors there’s really no way to know. Billions pour in, even from foreign entities, which had been illegal. All thanks to Republicans!!!
It’s interesting how Republican John McCain (co-author of the campaign finance reform laws) changed his tune when it suited his Presidential aspirations. Hmmmmmm.
We are no longer a democracy or republic, but run by the 1% oligarchy which has the means to control the media and scare an ignorant public into voting against their own interests. The Republican noise machine via Rush, FOX, et al have perfected propaganda.
And the leading Republican contender for LA’s next gov. is not an obstructive and sleazy whoremonger who yaps about “family values” while frequenting NO and Washington pricy prostitutes, even calling them from the House floor. He is a Godly man …merely a Sinner. If you wish for honesty in LA politics say no to the SINNER-TOR.
Well, at least Jindal didn’t appoint a gay or lesbian to this position, who would have undermined the integrity of the institution of marriage between a man and a woman.
Fred Tumbar is an awesome individual and I don’t believe these allegations for one second.