Caltrans’ Staff Wants Boss Back

Nearly 100 Caltrans employees in Orange County asked Gov. Gray Davis in a petition Monday to reinstate former District Director Mike McManus, saying that morale has suffered since McManus’ ouster two months ago.

McManus, 45, had been director of District 12, which covers Orange County, for 2 1/2 years. He was demoted to deputy director of maintenance and transferred to San Diego at a lower salary in late October. He has served off and on at the state agency for 21 years.

McManus is the only district director to be replaced by Caltrans Director Jose Medina, appointed by Davis when he took office in January. At the time, a Caltrans spokesman said the change was part of Medina’s efforts to get his team in place. “Some people, you maybe hit it off a little better with than others,” Caltrans spokesman Jim Drago said.

The petition, which was first sent to state Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) last week, said the local employees were “appalled” by the decision.

“This unexplained change significantly hurts employee morale,” the petition reads, “particularly for employees with the ethic that one receives rewards when one does an excellent job.”

The petitioning employees cite McManus’ record of delivering projects on time and within budget, his implementation of efficiency programs and a prestigious award that recognized those efforts.

“Over the course of the past weeks, I’ve received a slew of phone calls on behalf of Mike,” Dunn said, adding that he has spoken with Medina and was told that it was an internal decision. “I’m still trying to determine whether it’s an issue I can influence.”