After months of antagonism which goes back to last November's elections, the Los Alamitos City Council has hired a new City Manager. Filling this vacant position was the first test for a Council which included the replacement for former Mayor Dean Grose, who was forced to resign after e mailing a racial slur.
Like the decision to appoint Dean Zarkos to replace Grose, The hiring of the new City manager was on a 4 to 1 vote, with Council Member Mejia dissenting. She said "I think they {the other Council members} would have loved for me to have agreed with them in who they chose. Jeff is a very nice man and I'm sure that when he comes in, he will do a good job, he's just not the candidate I supported."
The new City Manager is Jeffrey L. Stewart. Mayor Edgar made the announcement at the City Council Meeting on Monday, April 20, 2009. “The City Council voted this evening to offer Mr. Stewart the job,” said Mayor Edgar in a statement. “We are delighted that he has agreed to join the team. Jeff is a seasoned City Manager with outstanding experience that will provide the leadership and stability that our City needs. I speak for the entire City Council," stated Mayor Edgar, “when I say welcome Jeff, and we look forward to you helping us move Los Alamitos forward.”
The City's statement said "Contract details are being firmed up and will be finalized prior to Mr. Stewart assuming office, which we anticipate will occur by mid-May. We anticipate his agreement to be scheduled for the open session agenda on May 4th."
Council Member Mejia, as well as some local residents who spoke at recent Council meetings, were supportive of hiring Nita McKay, the City's Interim City Manager. Mejia said "I felt that Nita McKay was a perfect fit for the job. She had already proven herself in what she had done in the past." Some observers of Los Alamitos city politics were surprised when Mayor Edgar also expressed support for McKay at a Council meting earlier this year. When interviewed today, however, he said "We had a criteria early on that said we wanted an existing city manager--somebody that was experienced. I would say that would be the most distinguishing attribute because of all of the turnover we have had, we really wanted to have somebody that had been a city manager before." Mayor Edgar said the City has had a turnover of 24 people in director and above positions during the last 4 years, and 7 people as City Manager during the same time period.
Mayor Edgar and others publicly praised McKay for her handling of the crisis around the resignation of former Mayor Grose and McKay's success in managing the crisis caused the criteria of previous city manager experience to be reconsidered. Mayor Edgar said "I think that there was an earnest attempt to try to reevaluate weather that criteria should stand." In the end, the Council decided to stay with the experience criteria. While McKay has many years of city management experience, she has never been a sitting city manager.
Mr. Stewart has a B.A. Degree from California State University, Fullerton and a Masters in Public Administration from California State University, Fullerton. He has served for 3 years as the City Manager and 5 years as the Assistant City Manager in the City of El Segundo, and as Administrative Services Director in the City of Rosemead.
