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HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Nears Hiring of Administrator

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The City Council will hold a closed-door meeting tonight that may end with the announcement that a new city administrator has been hired.

Mayor Thomas J. Mays on Wednesday confirmed that the leading candidate for the job is Michael T. Uberuaga, 45, city manager of Concord in Contra Costa County. Mays said that if salary negotiations can be completed by tonight, the council is likely to vote for Uberuaga and announce his selection.

The new city administrator will succeed Paul E. Cook, who announced several months ago that he plans to retire early in 1990. The position is the top non-elected leadership job in the city.

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Mays, in an interview Wednesday, said he and other council members are very impressed with Uberuaga.

“He has a fantastic record in Concord,” Mays said. “He was brought into Concord three years ago when the city had a $5-million debt, and within a year he put the city in the black again. He’s very well-respected up there.”

Mayor Pro Tem Peter M. Green, a councilman who disagrees with the council majority on many matters, also praised Uberuaga. Green said he recently visited Concord to talk to people about him.

“The response I received was that he is a very honest, hard-working man with a high sense of integrity,” Green said. “I think he’s an outstanding candidate for the position.”

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