Former City Housing Chief H. Smith Dies

Homer Smith, former executive director of the Los Angeles City Housing Authority, died Sunday after suffering a heart attack while playing racquetball at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Friends said Smith, who would have celebrated his 55th birthday Aug. 6, collapsed on the court and was taken to the nearby Hospital of the Good Samaritan, where he suffered a second and fatal attack while under treatment in the emergency room.

Smith, who resigned his $77,000-per-year position under fire late in 1985, was born in Bell, graduated from Jefferson High School in Los Angeles and had been a city employee for more than a quarter of a century at the time of his resignation.

Originally employed by the Housing Authority as a security patrolman in 1958, he had risen through Civil Service ranks and was assistant to the executive director of the Housing Authority before being appointed to head the agency in 1978.

His administration came under fire during the mid-1980s with allegations of personnel problems and waste. Strong initial backing from various city officials, including Mayor Tom Bradley, was gradually eroded by the pressure of multiple investigations.

Upon his resignation, however, he was granted a year’s pay plus more than $25,000 in overtime and vacation pay, in addition to an annual city pension of about $25,000 per year.

He leaves his wife, Vivian; a daughter, Stephanie; four stepdaughters, Camille Anderson, Julie Reed, Kathy Clark and Sharon Clark; a son, Homer B. Smith; two stepsons, Darren Clark and Derrick Clark; two sisters, Minnie Adams and Lula Grayson, and two granddaughters.

Funeral arrangements were pending.