Former Clayton County county manager Wade Starr is the new executive director of the Clayton County Housing Authority. Starr, 60, was given a three-year contract to run the agency last week in a 3-2 vote by the housing authority board. Starr became a consultant to the housing board in February, shortly after losing his county manager’s job. The previous executive director of the housing authority, Linda Valentine, retired from the position in March. She earned $71,000 with an addition $20,000 in benefits. Starr will get $70,000 a year and no benefits. His salary will jump to $77,000 a year if his contract is renewed another three years. Starr was fired from the county manager’s job by the new administration, led by commission chairman Jeff Turner, as part of efforts to overhaul county government.

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Protestors demonstrate against the war in Gaza and the detention of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil at Emory University in Atlanta on March 20, 2025. The 30-year-old legal U.S. resident was detained by federal immigration agents in March. An Atlanta-based law firm has filed a lawsuit against the federal government arguing it illegally terminated the immigration records of five international students and two alumni from Georgia colleges, including one from Emory University. (Arvin Temkar / AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com