John Hechinger Sr., 84; Backed Home Rule for Washington, D.C.

John W. Hechinger Sr. 84, who chaired the first District of Columbia City Council, died Sunday, his 84th birthday, at his home in Washington, D.C. The cause was respiratory failure.

Hechinger was a committed supporter of home rule for the District of Columbia, which traditionally had been controlled by Congress. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson replaced the existing three-man board of district commissioners with a new mayor-council style of government and named Hechinger chairman of the first council.

The businessman held the post for two years. During his tenure, he worked to revitalize Washington neighborhoods devastated by the riots that followed the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A philanthropist, he used his personal wealth to aid the poor.

Hechinger was the scion of a family that created a home improvement store empire after World War II. He led Hechinger Co. from 1958 to 1996, building the firm into a multibillion-dollar enterprise with more than 100 stores. Unable to compete with discounters like Home Depot and Lowe’s, however, the firm filed for bankruptcy in 1999.