Action Delayed on Irvine’s City Manager Post

The Irvine City Council Tuesday night postponed action on the soon-to-be-vacated city manager’s post and will confer during the next month with the assistant city manager.

Assistant City Manager Paul Brady Jr. is under consideration for the city’s top administrative post, which will become vacant in August. City Manager William Woollett Jr. was removed from that job effective on that date by the council 2 weeks ago.

Mayor Larry Agran said during Tuesday night’s meeting that during the next 30 days, the council will confer with Brady regarding his “management philosophy” and other issues.

The council made the announcement after a closed-door session that lasted nearly 2 hours. Brady was not invited into that session until the last few minutes.

Two weeks ago, under pressure from the City Council, Woollett agreed to step down effective Aug. 1 and to continue working on special projects until at least Nov. 1 as “city manager emeritus.”

During the tumultuous weeks leading to Woollett’s forced resignation, Brady indicated that unless he was named city manager, he would go elsewhere.

Brady, 47, was hired as assistant city manager in May, 1972, just a few months after Woollett came on board as the new city’s first manager. Brady came from the city of Santa Barbara, where he had been personnel director. Previously, he had worked for a Santa Barbara land development company and the city of Monterey Park.