After the departure/firing/resignation of Deanna Santana, Fred Blackwell, Jr was appointed City Administrator. After a month, he left. Henry Gardner was appointed as the interim city admin. The job was posted in June, 2014 and was open due to civil service reasons. Gardner "pledged" to serve the city through Jan 20, 2015 at which point he will run into pension issues.3 The city may hire an executive recruiter to replace him. (source- city job description)
On January 15, 2015, Mayor Libby Schaaf announced that John Flores would replace Gardner as the new Interim City Admin.
Gardner was City Manager from 1981-1993. He was voted top city manager in the nation by the readers of City and State magazine. (see Bond Buyer below)1
He then went out the revolving door into the muni finance and consulting for the investment-banking firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. (see Bond Buyer below)
He was deputy executive director of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) from 2003-2005, and executive director from 2005-2010. 2
He headed Mayor Jean Quan's transitional team in 2010.
References
- tweet
- Henry Gardner Honored for a Lifetime of Public Service MTC.ca.gov
- Artz, M. Oakland mayor appoints new interim City Administrator. Oakland Tribune: Jan 15, 2015.
- MTC news (2010)
- Bond Buyer (2010)