Care needed in manager search

The News Virginian
Published: June 9, 2008

Quiet in the City Hall cacophony makes more shrill the discordant sounds over the looming departure of the city manager. It also increases the importance, and presumably the difficulty, of the task that the emergent council majority thrust upon itself by virtue of its initial transaction, begun in the shadows and awkwardly completed on the public stage.
Hiring an administrator of unassailable credentials will require an extraordinary deftness for the primary reasons that few acts in the political sphere are unassailable and the council’s conservative bloc so far has demonstrated a want of political dexterity. Managing such a maneuver is the surest and perhaps only way to silence the howling.
Questions persist over Doug Walker’s forced resignation, chief among them: Why? Many close followers of city politics feel reasonably assured that the answer lies in Walker’s allegiance — real or imagined — to the council’s current majority and its allies. The issue is not one of propriety but of political wisdom or judgment. One side lacked it, we know not which.
It remains doubtful that either will clear the muddle. Walker has future aspirations to worry about, and in his vocation, speaking ill of former employers even as a matter of self-defense is what’s known as a bad career move. The conservative bloc led by Councilman Frank Lucente hopes the clamor soon will wane and wants to avoid prolonging it.
That leaves time and the hiring of Walker’s replacement as available salves for the city’s wounds, the latter carrying the risk of increasing or reviving rather than stopping the bleeding. Of significant importance to the new majority ought to be avoiding even the appearance of political taint.
Candidates who potentially would inspire legitimate questions about political associations should be crossed off the list. Rumors, which we have checked but so far have not substantiated, suggest the majority is seeking to place an ally in the job; such a decision would kindle a new uproar, to which we would lend a loud voice.
The new manager ought to be one whose managerial skills and acumen can be shown to shine, and one who considers the mission to be serving the city rather than political interests. To be sure, the manager works at the council’s behest and is tasked with carrying out the wishes of representatives elected by the people. But good administrators also are vigilant about shielding themselves and therefore the city from undue influence, keeping the city on course and ensuring that the council knows the potential hazards of its actions.
To lead the search for just such an administrator, the council is discussing hiring an outside agency to field resumes and screen applicants. It’s an elementary step that has the understandable backing of both sides on the council, but it’s also crucial given the current political environment in the aftermath of Walker’s resignation.
What the city does not need is for the hiring process to be muddied further by politics. Waynesboro’s next city manager should be one of superior qualifications and one without a dog in the factional fight. The onus is on the majority in waiting to do its part in finding and selecting a candidate who meets these criteria. So far, the council appears to be following the prudent course. If officials fail in that, the ugly sound of disharmony could abide for months and perhaps years to come.