City to Pick New Manager From Within

The San Diego City Council voted unanimously Monday to find retiring City Manager John Lockwood’s successor among city government employees, a decision that greatly buoys Assistant City Manager Jack McGrory’s chances of landing the $126,000-a-year post.

In a short discussion of whether to hold a national or local search, council members sang the praises of the management team Lockwood has assembled, saying they see no reason to look beyond City Hall for their next top executive.

“We do have the talent here in San Diego,” said Councilwoman Judy McCarty. “We have a current city manager who has made the effort, and very wisely so, to train the young people coming up behind him.”

“There are several excellent choices right here in this building,” said Mayor Maureen O’Connor.

The vote was a victory for O’Connor, who had advocated an in-house selection from the moment Lockwood announced his retirement Dec. 11. Lockwood’s last day at City Hall is March 9, and O’Connor said Monday that she would like the council to name his successor by mid-February.

Even Deputy Mayor Bob Filner, who last month sought an extensive examination of the council’s priorities coupled with a national search for Lockwood’s replacement, voted for the in-house search.

Although the local selection process is theoretically open to anyone from the city’s top management staff, the 41-year-old McGrory is considered the favorite now that he faces no competition from outside city government. As Lockwood’s top assistant, McGrory oversaw for the city arrangements for the 1988 Super Bowl here and has been praised as a skilled negotiator with developers.

“I don’t think you could beat his qualifications anywhere, no matter how long you searched,” Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer said later in an interview, adding that no other potential applicants appear to have strong backing from individual council members.

But O’Connor and Council Members Wes Pratt, Bob Filner and Ron Roberts said in interviews that they have not yet made up their minds about Lockwood’s replacement. The two names most commonly mentioned as McGrory’s competitors are Deputy City Managers Maureen Stapleton and Severo Esquivel.

“Maureen Stapleton has done a terrific job,” Roberts said.

O’Connor said she will schedule a discussion on how to conduct the search at a council or rules committee meeting.