– LEGAL NEWS PHOTO BY CYNTHIA PRICE
By Cynthia Price
Legal News
While Mika Meyers Beckett and Jones litigation attorney Andrea Crumback is new to the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan (FHCWM) board of directors, her involvement with the organization goes back more than a decade.
“I met Nancy Haynes [FCWM Executive Director] when?I came into town, so I’ve known her for over 20 years,” Crumback says. “She’s always had a vision and a passion to break down barriers, and she’s been kind of an inspiration to me.
“I’ve always been a member and supporter, so when she approached me about considering being on the board, it made sense. It really fits in with what I care about.”
Crumback’s passion in life is fairness and equity. “I’m a promoter of diversity of all kinds and breaking down barriers for people with disabilities, people of color... The fair housing work fits right in,” she says.
Her previous work with Indian Trails Camp, which includes five years on that initiative’s board of directors as well, seems compatible with the FHCWM position. “Our focus there is empowering people with disabilities,” Crumback explains, “and one component of fair housing is making sure that everybody has access, including accommodations for disabilities.”
Indian Trails Camp offers opportunities for people to experience activities despite challenges. “Many times people with disabilities are not given opportunities to succeed and to feel like they’re a part of things. Children will say, I can’t play on the swing set, I can’t go sledding, or other things we might take for granted. How I first became aware of Indian Trails,” she says, “was going on the website and seeing a woman with a big smile who had been able to sled for the very first time in her life.” Crumback has been involved with the camp for about five years.
At Mika Meyers, Crumback is a litigator with broad concentrations in civil including general corporate and construction, in personal injury, in criminal misdemeanors, collections, family law, and tax issues. For the last, she often appears before the Michigan Tax Tribunal and the State Tax Commission in property tax appeals.
“I have a very varied litigation practice,” she says. “There’s never a dull moment.”
Before starting at Mika Meyers over 13 years ago, Crumback started out her career at a small plaintiffs firm in Detroit that specialized in medical malpractice, and was with Boyden Waddell Timmons and Dilley on her arrival in Grand Rapids.
Her next stop was at the Grand Rapids City Attorney’s office, where she did criminal misdemeanor prosecution and civil litigation work. “They actually call it the ordinance enforcement division,” she explains.
Crumback, currently a Rockford resident, received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her law degree from Wayne State University Law School.
She was also very involved with the Grand Rapids Bar Association and served as president of the Young Lawyers Section, and since last September has been chairing the State Bar of Michigan Taxation Section’s State and Local Taxation Committee.
“That involves looking at the new tax laws and possibly developing a position as a section, and also making sure we’re educating the public. Tax is a complex area that’s actually something that I’m very interested in making understandable, and that takes up a good bit of my time.”
It is important to Crumback to limit her involvements so that she can devote enough time to each to do a high-quality job. Serving as board member for FHCWM is a major commitment.
The Center’s website reads: “The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan is a private, non-profit fair housing organization committed to providing comprehensive fair housing services, including education, outreach, research, advocacy and enforcement. The Fair Housing Center is the front door to housing choice, ensuring that everyone in our community has equal opportunity to choose housing that’s right for them... [W]e prevent housing discrimination, remove barriers that allow it to persist, and restore housing choice when discrimination happens.”
Crumback’s attorney training and broad experience mean that she brings a lot to the table. Serving on the board alongside Crumback are the Hon. Benjamin Logan and Fred Mackraz of The Mackraz Law Office, and the aforementioned Nancy Haynes, Executive Director, is a lawyer herself.
Enforcement aspects of FHCWM, which covers Allegan, Grand Traverse, Ionia, Isabella, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola and Ottawa counties, are statute-driven.
The authorities under which it operates include, at the federal level, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Reconstruction Act, which prohibits all racial discrimination in the sale or rental of property; the Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the civil Rights Act of 1968 as amended by the Fair housing Amendments Act, which protects against discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, gender, familial status and disability, and provided initial accessibility requirements for covered housing; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in any activities conducted or financed (even in part) by HUD, primarily focused on public housing authorities, government-run and public university housing; and the Housing for Older Persons Act.
The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (1976) prohibits discrimination in Michigan broadly, including in housing. The Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act (also 1976) also provides the right for persons with disabilities to obtain reasonable accommodation and modifications in housing. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights assists FHCWM with enforcement.
Something Crumback finds most impressive about FHCWM is the staff’s willingness to engage people who are found to be not in compliance. “When they do become aware of violations, instead of just filing a lawsuit, they invite a discussion with the party. They try to resolve everything that they can informally. It’s a really good thing to be able to work with everybody.”
Crumback credits Haynes with fostering that culture — “Nancy has a knack for bringing people together” — and points out that Haynes is also involved with national work. (She is currently the First Vice Chair of the National Alliance for Fair Housing.)
FHCWM is taking a lead role in pulling together a regional group to look at what is required under the new Affirmatively Further Fair Housing Regulations, which came out of U.S. Housing and Urban Development.
FHCWM through Haynes advocated in Washington for approval of the regulations, which have been controversial in some sectors. The regulations seek to provide communities with tools and data to help them meet existing fair housing goals and plan for affordable housing and community development.
“What I understand about this program is that it’s giving communities a measuring stick for what they’re already doing. I do know that sometimes it’s not only about the numbers,” Crumback says, “but what I’ve appreciated about President Obama is his willingness to go ahead and try. You can always evaluate programs later and make changes, but if we keep trying to find something that’s absolutely perfect before we act, we’ll never move forward. Equal access and equal opportunity are so important to the United States.”
The annual luncheon and conference of the Fair Housing Center furthers its mission of educating partners and the public. This year, a record number of people, 227, attended the morning sessions, which included workshops on aging in place, neighborhood stabilization and fair housing best practices, and 347 attended the luncheon. The organization also holds book clubs and will host a breakfast in Holland on Oct. 22.
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