Manager of Torrance Cable TV System Resigns

Warren Carter, the Torrance television cable administrator who oversaw the development of the city’s cable system, has resigned from his post effective July 21.

City Manager LeRoy Jackson announced Tuesday that Carter has decided to leave his job after six years to pursue other “career interests in education and consulting” in the cable industry.

Carter is out of town this week and could not be reached.

Jackson said Carter decided on his own to leave, though Jackson and other city officials acknowledged that Carter’s management style often put him in conflict with colleagues.

During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Jackson praised Carter for helping to “establish the framework for the city’s cable system.” Carter has been the cable administrator since the city first issued the cable franchise in 1982. It was originally held by Group W Cable and is now operated by Paragon Communications.

Project Manager

Carter also served as project manager for the planning and construction of the $1.8-million Stanley E. Remelmeyer Telecommunication Center, where the city has its public access studios and equipment.

“A lot of what has been established here is because of Warren Carter,” said Jackson. “This is going to be a loss to the city of Torrance.”

Jackson acknowledged in an interview Tuesday that he and Carter did not always agree on cable matters and “had different management styles.”

He said that in September, 1987, he suspended Carter for a month as a “disciplinary action.” Jackson would not comment on what led to the suspension, saying only that he and Carter had a “disagreement on procedure.”

In an interview earlier this year, Carter declined to discuss the suspension.

Expertise Praised

Mayor Katy Geissert also praised Carter, saying he “brought a great deal of expertise with him. . . . I certainly give Warren credit for getting the system off the ground.”

She also acknowledged that Carter was “from time to time the center of controversy” because he “tended to have personality conflicts with his staff members.”

Michael Smith, the city’s cable operations supervisor, will temporarily fill Carter’s position until a replacement can be hired, Jackson said.