Letters to the Editor: City manager selection process in Newport Beach requires more transparency

This has been a wild week in Newport Beach. When a social media rumor circulated that an elected county supervisor, with absolutely no experience as a city manager, was in the top three for consideration to replace City Manager Dave Kiff, the public became outraged.

Over 300 e-mails were generated to the City Council after the interviews were moved up two weeks and notice was given late Friday night for a Monday morning special meeting. Despite this effort to avoid public scrutiny, over 50 residents attended the meeting, demanding that only a qualified city manager candidate be considered and requesting this decision be delayed until after the election.

Everyone in attendance was shocked when the crowd began to chant, “Vote them out!” as the council filed out of the room.

It was troubling to see the city issue a statement accusing Councilman Jeff Herdman of violating some sort of “confidentially agreement” by commenting on qualifications of one of the candidates without mentioning his name.

As council watcher Jim Mosher has noted, this statement failed to mention all of the members of the council who had advanced Supervisor Shawn Nelson’s name. [Editor’s note: Though the topic of public debate in council chambers, the Daily Pilot has been unable to confirm whether Nelson was indeed a finalist for city manager.]

I know my source of the name was not Herdman, and the community owes him a word of thanks for standing up for the community and calling for the public to attend this “special meeting.” Now, council, tell us the names of everyone who supported this candidate.

Keith Curry

Newport Beach

The writer is a former mayor.

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Controversy envelops Newport council

It seems like rarely a week goes by without the news of some kind of controversial, hot-button issue being introduced by the Newport Beach City Council.

Be it developments, declarations of refusing funds from the gas tax, the attempt to make Newport a port city, the debacle over Museum House, the on-again, off-again discussion of adopting a new General Plan, the questionable and greatly unpopular move to terminate the city manager’s contract — these are just a few of the issues that make residents in Newport feel like they are on a perpetual roller coaster.

Most recently the council set up a meeting at 9 a.m. Monday (evidently they think that no one in Newport Beach works) to privately interview candidates for city manager by phone. They had narrowed their choice down to three candidates, one of whom was rumored to be a political pick. Amazingly, they went from over 70 applicants down to three finalists and — after their closed-door session — just two in a short period of time.

Residents who got up to speak had lots to say about the hiring process and what they said was not very complimentary. In fact, when one of the concerned residents, council candidate Roy Englebrecht, suggested putting the process on pause until after the November election, only one council member, Jeff Herdman, sympathized with the frustrated residents by making a motion to that effect. But he was unable to get a second.

Among the approximately 50 people in the audience, no one seemed supportive of the council, often applauding as 14 impassioned speakers criticized the lack of transparency, as well as the city manager hiring process.

Lynn Lorenz

Newport Beach

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