S.D. Names McGrory Its New City Manager : Government: Mayor calls successor to John Lockwood ‘one of the finest men in the industry.’

Described by Mayor Maureen O’Connor as “an insider” and “one of the finest men in the industry,” Jack McGrory, a 17-year veteran of city government, was unanimously approved Tuesday as San Diego’s 18th city manager.

He replaces John Lockwood, 59, who will leave the post March 9 to head the state Department of General Services. McGrory has been assistant city manager since 1988.

Because of his age, the 41-year-old McGrory will give the city “the best of his years,” O’Connor said. He will be sworn in March 4 and take office the next day. He will be paid the same salary as Lockwood: $126,000 a year.

“I hope he’s here for a long, long time,” the mayor said after the 9-0 vote in closed session that approved the appointment. “I told him, ‘I hope you retire here,’ because the one thing the community needs is stability, which means a strong city manager.”

Lockwood’s successor has the height--6-foot-6--and the build of the former high school basketball player he happens to be. An avid jogger and tennis player, McGrory said keeping in good physical shape remains a high priority.

He conceded that the most difficult part of the new assignment is the burden it will place on his time. McGrory and his wife live in Bay Park with their three daughters and a son.

Asked why he wanted the job, he laughed and said: “Since I started working here, one of my career goals has been to stay with the city. Public service is important, but obviously, these days, it’s not held in high regard.

“The high points are the tremendous diversity of issues we have the opportunity to get involved in. One of the most rewarding aspects of the job is the impact of our involvement on some of these issues--to make a difference in the quality of life in San Diego.”

As one who studied under Lockwood, a 40-year veteran of city government, McGrory characterized his style as low-key--like Lockwood’s--saying the cocktail-party-and-tuxedo circuit is not for him.

If any difference exists between him and his mentor, he suggested, it would be in trying to provoke greater involvement from the community at large.

“We don’t have the resources within city government to resolve all of the problems in the community,” McGrory said. “The only way to address particularly some of the social and law enforcement problems we have is to get the community more involved.”

McGrory said he plans to meet with community groups more frequently than Lockwood did in addressing what he cited as the city’s pressing concerns: fiscal management, law enforcement, environmental and conservation issues and growth management.

O’Connor called McGrory “very hands-on” in his approach to dealing with problems and said he has the knack of not personalizing disagreements.

“I just think it’s important that, to be effective in management, particularly with the number and diversity of issues we get involved in, that you not personalize the issues you take on,” McGrory said. “The advice we consistently give to city supervisors is that you can’t personalize the issues.

“If you do, to the extent that you’re emotionally hurt, then the result will probably be that your recommendations won’t be approved. You were probably so personally involved that you couldn’t make an objective decision anyway.”

McGrory laughed when asked if he would like to be mayor.

“I have absolutely no--and make sure you get this right--no political ambitions,” he said.

He said he hopes to stay in the job at least five years, then re-evaluate. He was able to win from the City Council a contract whereby he will be evaluated after his first six months in office and then re-evaluated each year. He said he wanted a contract to protect his retirement benefits, which accrue more significantly after 20 years of public service.

“His needs were simple,” the mayor said. “He wasn’t greedy at all. If you take a look at a past city manager (Sy Murray, the high-profile officeholder who preceded Lockwood), his contract is cheap by comparison.”

McGrory is a native of Boston. He played on the tennis team at Colgate University and was later a Marine Corps lieutenant stationed at Camp Pendleton.

He holds a law degree from the University of San Diego and a master’s degree in public administration from San Diego State University, where he teaches labor law, administrative law and public personnel administration part time.

He began his career in city government as a personnel trainee in a federal employment program, then became deputy personnel director and joined the city manager’s office in August, 1982.

He is credited with helping the city acquire Super Bowl XXII in 1988, and he is actively involved in the city’s bid for Super Bowl XXVII in 1993.

McGrory said such “mega-events” are important to the economy of a city heavily dependent on tourism and that had, not too long ago, a $60-million budget deficit.

He sees the city’s biggest problems as fiscal, whether they involve growth management, negotiations with city employees, the five-year drought and issues surrounding it, or crime and the performance of the Police Department.

His biggest challenge, in O’Connor’s view, “is making the dollars stretch--no question. As we grow, and the city becomes more complex, we need Mr. McGrory’s high energy and his resourcefulness in coming up with creative solutions to problems. He’ll look at all the options and dare to be different, dare to take risks.

“He was the best of the best of anyone we considered.”