Martin LaMar abruptly resigned his job as leader of the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority.

Hugh Grefe, chairman of the agency’s board of commissioners, said Mr. LaMar submitted his resignation “late” Monday. The board, at a special meeting that started at 9:30 a.m. that day, named Demetria Simpson who had been a chief operations officer, as the interim president and chief executive officer.

“I can tell you that we are really pleased that we’ll have a smooth transition,” Mr. Grefe said.

Mr. Grefe said Mr. LaMar did not inform the board of his professional plans. When asked if he was surprised by Mr. LaMar’s resignation Mr. Grefe responded: “I would think so.”

A meeting notice for Monday’s special meeting said the purpose of the session was to elect a chairman of the board of commissioners.

Mr. Grefe had been named chairman of the LMHA board earlier this year, but his term on the board expired April 12. He was reappointed to his most-recent term May 16, when Toledo city council confirmed his appointment. The housing board then had to rename him as its chairman, said LMHA chief legal officer Thomas Mackin.

Mr. Mackin said the board went into an executive session at Monday’s meeting to discuss an “employment matter.” Only commissioners were in that closed-door session, he said.

The board then left closed session and made a motion to make Ms. Simpson the interim president, Mr. Mackin said. 

He said the LMHA did not have a written contract with Mr. LaMar, whose annual salary was $135,000. He said the board has hired an outside attorney “to work through the process of a fair transition,” including severance terms. 

“The board has a lawyer, and he has a lawyer,” Mr. Mackin said. 

Mr. LaMar was named executive director of the agency in July after serving previously as the deputy director. He had been hired in late 2014 with the expectation that he would become the agency’s next leader, according to what officials said last year when he was named to the top spot.

Mr. LaMar, who could not be reached for comment today, previously held management positions with housing authorities in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Seattle.

He replaced Linnie B. Willis, who had been LMHA executive director. Ms. Willis had spent more than three decades at LMHA, including 10 years at the helm.

Ms. Simpson was the agency’s No. 2 administrator, working as chief operating officer after Mr. LaMar was promoted. 

Ms. Simpson “has been a well-respected and successful” in that role, Mr. Grefe said, in a written statement. He expects her interim appointment to become permanent and that the board will not conduct a search for a president.

The housing authority is responsible for more than 7,600 homes in Lucas County.

Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.

First Published May 23, 2017, 7:27 p.m.