5 on tap for city manager's post 5 on tap for city manager's post (September 17, 2004)

Interviews start Sept. 28 to replace Deborah McKeehan
by Jeb Bing

City Council members have appointed themselves and four others who are campaigning for mayor or council seats in the Nov. 2 municipal election to a special nine-member committee that will interview candidates and eventually recommend a replacement for City Manager Deborah McKeehan, who will leave her post Dec. 3.

Five candidates, all holding key managerial positions in California now, have been selected for interviews by Pleasanton officials starting Sept. 28. They are considered top prospects by Richard W. Perry, a principal with the executive search firm of Hughes, Perry & Associates, which has offices in Sea Ranch, a Southern California city.

Perry's firm sorted through the qualifications of 20 or more applicants for McKeehan's position, and then narrowed the selection to less than 10, sending resumes, writing samples and videotaped interviews to Pleasanton council members for initial reviews. The five finalists come from that early group, with Perry having conducted more intensive background checks on each candidate.

In a conference call with the City Council and McKeehan, Perry stressed the importance of keeping names and cities of the applicants confidential. He also encouraged the council to invite the non-council candidates to the interviews so that they could be part of the decision-making process.

"Candidates for the city manager's job will want to know who they might be working for after the election," Perry said. "By interviewing with all who are now on the council or might be after the election, a prospect for this job will have a better understanding of who his bosses might be."

At first Councilman Matt Campbell, who is not seeking re-election and will leave the council after its first meeting in December, wanted only those on the current council to interview manager candidates and make the final decision. Others, including Mayor Tom Pico, who also is not seeking re-election, argued successfully to invite the outside candidates in. That includes Gabe Kralik, who is one of three seeking to replace Pico as mayor. Two others seeking that office are already on the council: Kay Ayala and Jennifer Hosterman. Non-council candidates for council seats are Cindy McGovern, Matt Sullivan and Jerry Thorne.

By establishing a City Manager Recruitment Advisory Committee, both current council members and non-council members who are seeking positions in the upcoming election can meet and talk together in closed session under the personnel provisions of the Brown Act, which governs closed door meeting discussions. Had the current council chosen to interview candidates on its own, it could not have invited outside candidates without also opening the meeting to the public, including the media.

"It is typical that applicants for positions like city manager do not want their current employers to be aware that they are considering taking another position," McKeehan explained. "Accordingly, we want to keep the selection process confidential with the review of applicant resumes and interviews of applicants held in closed session under the personnel exception to the Brown Act."

The first group of candidates will be interviewed by the entire nine-member Recruitment Advisory Committee on Tuesday, Sept. 28, with the others scheduled to be interviewed the following day. On Friday, Oct. 1, the two or three finalists will have individual interviews with each of the nine committee members, making for a nine-hour day for the candidates as well as the committee.

Then the committee will confer together and with Richard Perry, with the intention to complete the selection process early in October and make a job offer.

Pleasanton is one of the few California cities that have attracted a large number of qualified applicants. In other locations, such as Richmond, city manager applicants have been hard to find because of high housing costs, political instability in some communities and tense economic times.

Although no salary guidelines have been announced, it's expected that Pleasanton's new city manager could be offered more than the $175,000 now paid to McKeehan. That's because she has declined pay raises for the last two years, although other department managers who report to her have received theirs.

McKeehan said she hopes the new manager will be on board by mid- to late October, well in advance of her planned departure date, City manager for the last 14 years and with 28 years of city management experience, McKeehan said she is looking forward to being a "stay-at-home mom" to her two children, Kelly, a junior at Amador Valley High School, and Jessica, who is in the fifth grade at Vintage Hills Elementary. She is married to James McKeehan, executive vice president of Signature Properties. The family lives in Ruby Hill.

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