Alameda City Council postpones vote on appointing Beaudin as next city manager

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Pleasanton City Manager Gerry Beaudin sits at his desk inside the city offices. (File photo by Christian Trujano)

The Alameda City Council opted to delay the appointment of Pleasanton City Manager Gerry Beaudin as the next leader of its city in an unexpected move Tuesday night with his negotiated contract poised for a final vote.

Councilmember Greg Boller, who made the motion to continue the item to May 5, said he did so because the city’s recruiter “informed me last week that she was preparing new and important information” for the council’s consideration regarding Beaudin’s appointment.

“She believed that the council could consider it in a future closed session — we didn’t actually receive this until after 10 a.m. today and so now I think we need to notice a closed session,” Boller said.

The councilmember, however, acknowledged Beaudin as a standout candidate and said his appointment being continued had nothing to do with his merits.

“He’s an impressive candidate given his broad experience, his expertise and his knowledge, particularly of Alameda,” Boller said. “We previously received incomplete information and as fiduciaries we just need to discuss the item and the new information in closed session and that’s the only place this particular information can be discussed.”

Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft was the lone dissenter in the 4-1 vote to postpone consideration of Beaudin’s appointment, which was under the council’s consent calendar. Items on consent are considered routine in nature and are approved in a single vote.

Ashcraft told Boller she was “totally unaware of what you’re speaking about”, which is why she did not second the motion or vote in favor of continuing the item.

“I’m really confused by what Councilmember Boller has just stated and so if I don’t understand something I’m certainly not supporting it,” Ashcraft said.

While the drama unfolded early in the Alameda council meeting, Beaudin was seated in the Pleasanton City Council Chambers for a regular meeting in his current city.

Beaudin was first appointed as Pleasanton’s city manager in May 2022. He had previously served as Pleasanton’s community development director from 2015 to 2019 before leaving for a job as Alameda’s assistant city manager — a title he held during 2019 to 2022.

Over the last four years leading Pleasanton, Beaudin oversaw the development strategic and management plans, found himself in the middle of multiple contentious labor negotiations and budget cycles, and guided the city through a number of notable projects.

Following a months-long recruitment process by the city of Alameda that began in December, Beaudin was expected to be hired Tuesday night by his former workplace to the west, with the Alameda City Council announcing Beaudin as its finalist for permanent city manager on April 9.

Now, if the vote happens May 5 as currently proposed, Beaudin’s first day on the job would be June 30.

“The City received many highly qualified candidates,” Yibin Shen, city attorney for Alameda, stated in a staff report to the council. “At the end of the selection process, Mr. Beaudin clearly stood out.”

Beaudin would replace Interim City Manager Adam Politzer, the former Sausalito city manager who has led Alameda on a temporary basis following Jennifer Ott’s departure in December.

In addition to being closer to his home in Oakland, Beaudin would be receiving a nearly $40,000 salary bump at the city of Alameda. In Pleasanton, Beaudin is currently making just over $343,500, while in Alameda he is set to make a little over $383,100.

The Alameda City Council, in addition to approving the employment agreement with Beaudin, would have to vote on adopting a resolution to increase the city’s salary range for the city manager position by 1% in order to “accommodate the proposed starting annual salary”.

According to his proposed employment agreement, Beaudin would also be guaranteed a salary that will “always be at least 5% above the salary for any member of the Executive Management Compensation Plan”.

The agreement includes 3% in deferred compensation contribution by the city equal to roughly $11,500 every year, $550 month for his car, a 12-month severance package, and other benefits including health insurance, leave accrual and holiday pay.

His employment agreement in Pleasanton requires 30 days’ notice, which could put his last day on the job during the first week of June.