Lockwood a Likely Successor to Murray : Assistant to Ousted City Manager Called Council’s Leading Prospect for Promotion

Foreshadowing a possible quick resolution to the latest drama at San Diego City Hall, there were indications Friday that the council might replace ousted City Manager Sylvester Murray with his assistant, John Lockwood, an administrator in San Diego city government for 30 years.

“Realistically, the only person we are looking at is John Lockwood,” Councilman Ed Struiksma said Friday of possible candidates for the post from within the ranks at City Hall.

Mayor Maureen O’Connor and Councilwoman Judy McCarty on Friday also praised Lockwood’s savvy in dealing with elected officials, as well as his experience in managing thousands of city employees.

“Mr. Lockwood, whether we go for a nationwide search or a regional search, would be a top candidate,” said O’Connor. “He’s an excellent candidate.”

While O’Connor and the council members stopped short of committing to Lockwood, they were quick to point out that he was the City Council’s first choice more than a year ago to take over the job from Ray Blair. Lockwood declined the offer, prompting the council to launch a nationwide search that ended in the hiring of Murray from Cincinnati.

But the 55-year-old administrator has changed his mind, said Struiksma, who invited Lockwood to talk “one on one” with him Friday morning.

“I asked him if he was still of the same mind, and he left me with the impression that if the council wanted to talk to him, he would be willing to talk to the council,” Struiksma said.

The change of heart was prompted by Lockwood’s “concern for the city and perhaps his understanding that, after a person is selected, it would take six months for that person to get up to speed,” Struiksma said.

McCarty, too, said that appointing someone like Lockwood, who has an understanding of San Diego’s city government, could help bring a quick end to the controversy surrounding Murray, who was asked to resign after 13 months because of friction with council members.

“I think the stability of the city requires that we move as quickly as possible for continuity,” McCarty said. “And we need some stability in this city, as we all know.

“I was just told today that he started out as a messenger boy in city government and worked his way up, and I think that’s great when you can promote from within. We’ve got excellent employees. It’s not only fair, it’s smart.”

The City Council voted in executive session on Tuesday to force Murray’s resignation but give him three months to quietly look for another job. News stories about the vote, however, ruptured the secrecy, and the subdued city manager tendered his resignation on Wednesday. The council will meet Monday to accept it and approve the terms of his leaving, which tentatively call for his immediate departure in exchange for nine months’ pay--or about $76,000.

The sudden termination of the city’s first black city manager came after several months of stormy relations between Murray and the council. The first overt sign of trouble came after The Times printed an article on an interview with Murray in which he said he had an “orgasm” being the boss of police and remarked on the conservative nature of the city’s black community.

The comments brought to the surface other gripes council members had with the city manager, and in June they convened an executive session to reprimand him for his comments and management style.

In discussing the possible appointment of Lockwood, O’Connor recalled the resignation of former City Manager Hugh McKinley, who came from Oregon. The City Council then chose McKinley’s assistant, Ray Blair, a hometown boy who rose within the ranks of San Diego business and municipal government.

Choosing Lockwood, another hometown boy, would be a similar move, O’Connor said. “You can draw parallels to this case,” she said.

Lockwood, 55, took his first job in government in 1949 as a mail messenger and mimeograph operator for the City and County of San Diego before eventually moving on to San Diego State University, where he was graduated with a bachelor’s degree in public administration.

He re-entered the city work force in 1956 as an analyst in the Budget Department, before working his way up and around city government in the Police Department, as a council liaison with the manager’s office, an assistant to council members, city clerk and assistant city manager.

Currently, his responsibilities in his $85,000-a-year post range through all the departments at City Hall, but he has been most closely identified with the operations of San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. One of his most troublesome assignments has been responsibility for fixing the Sorrento Valley pump station that has backed up and spilled millions of gallons of raw sewage into Los Penasquitos Lagoon and the ocean over the last several years.

Lockwood was acting city manager when Blair suffered a brain aneurysm and, later, after Blair resigned and before the council hired Murray. He will be acting city manager when Murray leaves--until a permanent manager is named.

Lockwood declined to comment Friday on discussions with council members or his interest in the city manager’s job. An affable man known for his sense of humor, he parried questions with a joke: “How about governor of California?”

Asked how he interprets the city manager’s job, Lockwood said:

“The council sets the policy, and the manager and the departments implement it. If you’re a full-time manager or part-time manager, you take the policy lead and fully implement. It’s not as complicated as it’s made out, sometimes.”

Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer said Friday that, while no no one had suggested to her that Lockwood be appointed, she favors a nationwide search for a successor to Murray.

“If we’re looking at a job that’s this important, I would consider him as well as other persons, but I want to shop around,” she said. “I’m a comparison shopper.”

She said she would be looking for someone with “spark” and “creativity.”

Councilmen Mike Gotch, Uvaldo Martinez, Bill Cleator and William Jones did not return telephone calls to their offices on Friday. Councilwoman Gloria McColl was out of town and could not be reached, an aide said.