San Leandro Residents Envision Next City Manager

San Leandrans want a new city manager who brings expertise in business, public finance and economic development to the job, who communicates well — and who lives in San Leandro.

A week before City Council will interview five finalists for the position, a small but articulate group of residents told local leaders what qualities they want to see in the city's new administrative head. 

Another 80 people responded to an online survey on the subject by April 28, Mayor Stephen Cassidy said. 

Current City Manager Stephen Hollister announced his resignation last December and will step down on June 30.

The meeting, held at the , was run by Cassidy and Councilmember Diana Souza, both of whom serve on an ad hoc committee that recently narrowed down the field of candidates for the city manager position from 30 to five. Vice Mayor Ursula Reed also serves on the committee but was unable to attend Saturday's meeting.

Cassidy said he held the meeting to incorporate the feedback into interviews with the candidates on May 7.

At the meeting, Cassidy and Souza provided a handout of qualities the council already has in mind for the interviews. But, Cassidy said, "If we missed something, we want to know before we interview the folks and not after."

The council's list of qualifications includes someone who is a "strong, innovative leader" and able to "ensure the financial stability of the city and effectiveness and efficiency of services." The council also wants someone with a track record of success in city government, with a minimum of ten years' municipal leadership experience.

The candidates were chosen after a personnel relations expert analyzed all 30 applicants and chose the top 10 most qualified. The committee reviewed the list and agreed, narrowing it down to five.

"It was unanimous," Souza said.

Cassidy said the group is "diverse" but would not comment further on that subject.

At the meeting, resident Craig Williams said he wants to see a city manager who "has a lot of backbone as a characteristic and a strong sense of community." He also suggested having that person work to recruit businesses from Silicon Valley.

Another resident, Harold Perez, said he wished residents could directly vote for who becomes city manager.

"Then if they don't do a good job we can move them out," he said.

Local resident Mia Ousley expressed a similar sentiment. Ousley said she understood the public can choose not to reelect council members or the mayor if they are unhappy with the city manager — since that person reports directly to City Council — but "That's a very distant cry to having public accountability for the city manager."

Henry Huang said he'd like to see a city manager who is able to communicate with various ethnic groups, lives in San Leandro and has business experience to "create jobs for our community and to bring more taxes to City Hall."

Aubrey Albers said she wanted the next city manager to look not only at business matters but at recreation and quality of life issues as well.  Albers serves on the Shoreline Development Citizen Advisory Committee and is an outspoken advocate of preserving the San Leandro Marina.

"Our valuable marina needs to be preserved for the public and not as a money making machine," she said at the meeting.

Charles Gilcrest, who has served on the Board of Zoning Adjustments and ran for City Council in 2008, said the new city manager should be visionary, not reactive, in recommending and carrying out policy, as well as responsive to the council and the community.

"One thing I think the city manager needs to do is have vision," he said. "You need a manager that every day is thinking, 'How do we keep the city on course with the policy the council wants?'"

Because of the small group in attendance, Cassidy answered each person individually.

Cassidy told Williams the city is focused on becoming more business-friendly and may soon update its commercial development strategic plan, which dates from the 1990s.

He disagreed with Perez and Ousley on the merits of a direct public vote for city manager. The appointment of a city manager is written into the city's charter and would have to be amended to provide for direct vote, he noted.

Cassidy said the council must choose someone based on how well they think the person can work for them. 

"This person is working for the city council  on a day-to-day basis," he said. 

The council has not yet determined the proposed contract length for the chosen candidate, but Cassidy said the person could likely be city manager for many years beyond his own term as mayor.

Cassidy said living in San Leandro, or expressing a desire to move to the city, is a desired quality in the candidates, but not a requirement for the job.

"I don't think if a person resides outside of San Leandro, they care less about San Leandro," he said.

Souza added that there is "no expectation that someone coming in will know everything about San Leandro," but hopefully the chosen candidate would have some idea of "who we are and what we want to be."

Among those who filled out the online survey, Cassidy said, the most desired qualifications for city manager were communication and business skills, plus expertise in public finance and economic development.

Many residents also said they wanted the new city manager to be a resident of San Leandro, to have a focus on community and commitment to be an active participant in the community, and have a long-range, strategic perspective. 

Once the full city council interviews the candidates this week, one or two finalists could emerge if members reach consensus. After that, full background checks on those individuals will begin.