The Curious Case of a Missing Housing Advocate; As Greensboro Housing Commission Alleges Retaliation, Councilman Hugh Holston's Silence Speaks Volumes

Questions Swirl Around Hugh Holston Amid Housing Controversy

Nov 12, 2025

An investigative report by Yes Weekly, “Housing commissioners allege retaliation,” paints a dramatic picture of a Greensboro Minimum Housing Standards Commission (MHSC) at war with its own city government. The article details allegations of silenced voices, removed members, and a systematic effort to strip the citizen board of its power to inspect rental properties and study rising rents.

“Housing commissioners allege retaliation” by Ian McDowell Nov 12, 2025
https://www.yesweekly.com/news/city-council-considers-restricting-commission-powers/article_d199c0b7-bffc-44bd-b20c-0f77de20c8a1.html

Conspicuously absent from this narrative of political pressure and housing advocacy is the one City Councilmember whose professional life is dedicated to that very cause; At-Large Councilman Hugh Holston, the CEO of the Greensboro Housing Coalition (GHC).

GHC under CEO Hugh Holston, exists to champion “fair, safe, healthy, and affordable housing,” providing direct services like tenant-landlord mediation and advocacy for those in substandard living conditions. This mission aligns precisely with the efforts of the Minimum Housing Standards Commission (MHSC), which has been trying to inspect neglected rental properties and combat predatory landlords.

The Coalition’s website supports the community via “Home Assessments & Inspections” and “Partner with Community/Government Orgs”;

https://greensborohousingcoalition.org/

His omission from the story is a glaring silence that raises critical questions about his role in a conflict sitting at the precise intersection of his public office and his professional day job.

The stark irony, therefore, is that while the GHC’s mission is being acted out by the MHSC in city hall, the Coalition’s own CEO, who sits on City Council, has been a conspicuously silent party in the very political fight that determines whether that mission can be effectively carried out by the city’s own regulatory body.

The Commissioner’s Plight vs. The Councilman’s Platform

The Yes Weekly article centers on MHSC Chair Franklin Scott and Vice Chair Samuel L. Hawkins, who allege the city council has ignored their concerns about slumlords and retaliated against them for supporting an investigation into rent-inflation.

Meanwhile, Hugh Holston’s public platform is built on advocating for tenants. The GHC provides tenant education, mediation, and healthy home assessments; work that aligns directly with the MHSC’s thwarted goals.

So, when a city commission tasked with upholding housing standards is allegedly being neutered for doing its job, where is the city’s foremost housing advocate?

A Vacuum of Advocacy

The article quotes council members Sharon Hightower and Tammi Thurm, who provided the city’s rationale for reining in the commission. It details interactions with former city attorneys Chuck Watts and Tony Baker. Yet, there is no record of Holston weighing in, no statement of support for the MHSC’s investigative aims, and no defense of the need for robust oversight of rental properties.

This silence is deafening for two reasons;

Professional Expertise: As CEO of the GHC, Holston possesses an unparalleled, ground-level view of the very slumlord conditions and tenant crises the MHSC is trying to address. His expert testimony on the necessity of proactive inspections would carry significant weight.

Political Position; As an At-Large councilmember, he represents the entire city and has a voice in the very decisions being made about the MHSC’s future.

His absence from the conversation forces observers to wonder; Is he working behind the scenes, or is he staying silent? Does his silence signal tacit agreement with the council’s direction, or a political calculation to avoid a fight with colleagues and powerful real estate interests?

The Unasked Questions About Influence

The Yes Weekly article does not explore campaign finance, but Holston’s campaign records reveal a complicating factor. He has received contributions from PACs and individuals tied to TREBIC (The Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition), a powerful lobbying group that has historically advocated for looser rental inspection regimes.

Questionable Holston Campaign Contributors, considering Hugh’s occupation;

Triad Good Government P.A.C. - TREBIC members Tuggle Duggins and Roy Carroll

TREBIC member Marty Kotis

Tom Terrell, Jr, Fox Rothschild - Leader of the Real Estate Practice Group

TREBIC member Will Yearns, Granville Homes

TREBIC member Marc Isaacson

TREBIC member Christopher Harrill, Koury Corp

TREBIC member Richard Vanore, Koury Corp

TREBIC member Gordon H. Craig, Koury Corp

NC Realtors PAC

Greensboro Builders Association PAC

https://trebic.org/our-members/

This is the same organization that successfully lobbied for the state law that killed Greensboro’s proactive Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy (RUCO) program in 2013, a program that could have prevented the very conditions the MHSC now struggles to address.

The confluence is striking; a housing advocate councilmember, who leads a tenant-focused nonprofit, has accepted campaign support from an industry group that has worked to dismantle the policies he is expected to champion.

Without Holston’s own explanation, his absence in the Yes Weekly article becomes one of the central characters in the story. It leaves the public to question whether he is navigating a complex political landscape or whether the roles of Councilman and Housing Coalition CEO have created a conflict that leaves him unable to act when a key housing authority is under threat.

Before his appointment to the city council and his leadership at the Greensboro Housing Coalition, Holston served as the Chair of Greensboro’s Planning and Zoning Commission and the Chair of the Board of Adjustment. These long-standing professional alignments with the real estate sector, fuels a perception that his foundational sympathies may lie with industry players rather than with tenant advocates.

Until Councilman Holston speaks up, his silence on the alleged retaliation against the MHSC will remain a loud and unanswered question in Greensboro’s escalating housing debate.

Quote of interest from the article;