S.F. Housing Authority chief heads for door Lawsuits, charges, negative review pile up - Alvarez to take leave, not renew contract

San Francisco Housing Authority Executive Director Henry Alvarez is seen during a Housing Authority Commission meeting on Thursday, January 24, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif. San Francisco Housing Authority Executive Director Henry Alvarez is seen during a Housing Authority Commission meeting on Thursday, January 24, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close S.F. Housing Authority chief heads for door 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

(01-26) 17:16 PST San Francisco -- Henry Alvarez, the embattled executive director of the San Francisco Housing Authority, asked for a leave of absence Friday and indicated that he will not renew his contract, which expires this summer.

Alvarez's announcement came amid mounting questions about his leadership and nearly two months after The Chronicle first revealed that he faced three lawsuits from employees accusing him of discrimination and retaliation. Alvarez is also contending with increasing tenant frustrations about unresolved maintenance problems, a highly unfavorable review recently by inspectors with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and allegations that he steered two contracts to favored bidders.

"I have always acted in what I believed is the best interest of public housing residents," Alvarez wrote to Housing Authority Commission President Amos Brown on Friday, requesting the leave "to address immediate personal matters" starting Feb. 4. Alvarez also indicated that he would not seek to renew or extend his contract, which ends on June 12. He suggested that the commission meet quickly to discuss his request and a succession plan.

Ailing father

The fact that Alvarez's father has been ill was one of his considerations in requesting a leave, said Rose Dennis, a spokeswoman for the Housing Authority.

There was no immediate indication of who would take the reins at the agency, which oversees 6,476 units of low-income housing at 45 public housing projects across the city. The Housing Authority Board of Commissioners still needs to weigh Alvarez's request.

"They have several options available to them," Dennis said. "They will be advised by an attorney in closed session. People should not be wildly speculating about what will occur."

Brown, a staunch defender of Alvarez's, said he would have no comment about the director's resignation or a transition plan.

Mayor Ed Lee, who when he was city administrator recommended Alvarez to head the agency in 2008, said through his spokeswoman that he did not ask Alvarez to resign.

"This was Mr. Alvarez's decision," Lee said in a statement. "I respect Mr. Alvarez's decision to leave the Housing Authority after his contract expires. I share with him that our focus should always be on the quality of public housing and improving the lives of residents who live there. I will do my part to ensure that happens." Earlier this week, Lee said he wanted to see a major shift in the Housing Authority's structure and funding, including teaming with private investors and developers to rebuild housing projects and add units for different income levels, something the city is doing on a pilot basis under the name Hope SF.

"I am not interested in continuing the practice of just having a Housing Authority that operates and runs poverty housing," Lee said. "I am going to be looking at everything, and every decision we make, consistent with kind of getting rid of the old model and introducing a new one. ... In the context of that, we'll make personnel decisions."

Mixed reviews

While the Housing Authority has had a string of problematic executive directors and has suffered from insufficient funding from HUD, Sara Shortt, director of the city's Housing Rights Committee, which advocates for low-income tenants, said the agency has deteriorated significantly since Alvarez took the helm in 2008. She said tenants, service providers, city staff and others struggled to get the simplest questions answered - or the simplest repairs made.

"The agency has become increasingly dysfunctional, chaotic and in constant confusion and flux," she said. "I don't think we even know half of the frustrations and difficulties people have had in dealing with the agency, because a huge group of folks just gave up."

But the Rev. Arnold Townsend, president of the Economic Opportunity Council of San Francisco, said Alvarez actually improved an agency that he inherited in disarray.

"I think it's a bad thing for the city, and it's a bad thing for public housing, that he's gone," Townsend said. "I think Henry Alvarez was a blessing to that agency."

City officials, Lee included, maintain that many of the problems are not related to any particular individual but rather stem from insufficient funding from HUD.

Funding for public housing was cut significantly under former President George W. Bush, and while some has been reinstated under President Obama, advocates and city officials say it has not kept pace with the increasingly deteriorating conditions at decades-old public housing developments and skyrocketing rents for Section 8 voucher holders in high-cost cities like San Francisco.

HUD staffers are currently reviewing documents and interviewing San Francisco Housing Authority staff to determine ways to right the agency after it was found by federal inspectors to be woefully inadequate in finances and management.

The agency scored 54 out of 100 on HUD's most recent inspection, placing it on the "troubled" list along with just one other housing authority in California, of 114 such agencies around the state. If it doesn't get off the troubled list, it could face severe penalties, including eventual receivership.

The Housing Authority and Alvarez's leadership are also the subjects of an independent investigation urged by Lee. The Housing Authority Commission hired former City Attorney Louise Renne to conduct the investigation.The Board of Supervisors also requested that Budget Analyst Harvey Rose review the agency.

Matthew Schwartz, president and CEO of California Housing Partnership Corp. and a Housing Authority Commissioner since 2008, said a special commission meeting to discuss the details of Alvarez's plan could include points such as whether his entire contract will be paid out.

"All I know is what you know, which is what's in the letter," Schwartz said. "That's why we want to have the discussion with him at the special meeting to get a little more information about his plans. I can't tell any more from it than you can."

Pay, car, benefits

Alvarez makes $210,500 annually and receives a car and seven weeks off each year of combined vacation and sick leave. The Housing Authority also covers his pension contributions and his dental, vision and health care benefits.

It appeared from Alvarez's letter that he wouldn't attempt to stay employed with the Housing Authority Commission until July 14, the date he would be vested in his pension plan and receive a lifetime pension and health care, along with his wife. But the commission - all mayoral appointees - could ask him to stay on as the mayor searches for his successor.

Supervisor David Campos, who requested the performance audit of the Housing Authority, said he is concerned about Alvarez's collecting a large paycheck while on leave, if that's what comes to pass.

"The allegations that have been made are very serious. I can see why it's in the best interest of the agency that he move on," Campos said. "I want to make sure we're protecting the limited resources the agency and the city have."

Red flags

As Lee contemplates how to find a permanent director for the Housing Authority, advocates said he needs to be mindful of the Alvarez hiring. Lee acknowledged recently that he knew about several lawsuits and employee grievances against Alvarez in his previous positions in San Antonio and Oregon, but that he and others recommended Alvarez's hiring anyway.

"Please," Shortt said, "look for the red flags and do not ignore them if they're there."