January 14, 2005

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Publication Date: Friday, January 14, 2005

Five city managers to 'Tell All' at Thursday night forum

We've heard from eight of the city's former mayors in what may have been their last public forum together last April, now it's time to hear from the city managers who worked for them.

The Museum On Main Street will host a program next Thursday featuring five Pleasanton city managers who have held the job since 1971. As with the Mayors Forum, it promises to be an evening of insider information and first-time-told stories from those at the helm of city government.

Former Mayor Ken Mercer, now vice president of ValleyCare Health System, will moderate the discussion, which will start at 7 p.m. at the museum, 603 Main St. Mercer is likely to get the managers to tell some of the secrets of City Hall since he worked with all of them as a City Council member and mayor.

The managers, who will be here for what's likely to be a one-time meeting together, are: ¥ Bill Edgar, who served from 1971-1977, leaving to become assistant city manager of Sacramento and later that city's Redevelopment Agency director responsible for developing downtown Sacramento; ¥ Clayton Brown, 1977-1980, former assistant city manager for the city of Palo Alto, served the shortest number of years as Pleasanton's city manager. He left here to start his own recruitment business in Sacramento, searching for city managers and other top municipal officers for cities making those kinds of employment searches. ¥ James Walker, 1980-1989, who was promoted from management positions in finance and other departments with the city of Pleasanton. He left in 1989 to return to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, where he and his family raise cattle on some 33,000 acres of ranchland they control 40 miles north of that city. ¥ Deborah Acosta McKeehan, 1989-2004. Mercer hired her in one of his final decisions as mayor. Married to James McKeehan, she stepped down last November to spend more time at home with their two daughters, although she has since been named to the boards of the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, ValleyCare Health System and the Livermore Winegrowers Association. ¥ Nelson Fialho, Pleasanton's new city manager, was promoted to the post from his position as deputy city manager.

"I've known all these people and they have been truly great city managers, with Nelson now starting on his tour," Mercer said. "I think anyone who wants to hear about Pleasanton, what it was like and how it got to be where it is today, will enjoy hearing the stories these managers have to tell."

Pleasanton has had eight city managers since the position was created in 1952. Edgar, who will be the oldest at Thursday's forum, followed James Fales Jr., who was city manager from 1961-1971. He died several years ago.

Edgar was city manager when Mercer was first elected to the City Council in 1976 and, as part of a city manager's duties, helped Mercer learn the ropes of city governance.

"Mayors tend to look at everything from a political point of view, while city managers are not so political," Mercer said. "Sometimes you would see the grimaces on their faces when the council would vote 3-2 on some harebrain idea that the city manager had to implement and make it work. All five of the ones who will be on our panel were and are excellent. Our city is fortunate to have hired them as city managers."

Admission to the Thursday Forum, which kicks off the Museum's 2005 Lecture Series, is $5 for members of the Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society and $10 for all others. Reservations can be made at 462-2766, and are recommended since the museum can seat only 60 people.

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