Newport Beach Gets a New City Manager

Alhambra City Manager Kevin J. Murphy is expected to be appointed city manager here after a selection process marred by the indictment of Utilities Director Robert J. Dixon on embezzlement charges.

Sources who requested anonymity said Monday that the City Council picked Murphy after a four-month search and weeks of interviewing candidates during closed-door council sessions. Newport officials will formally announce the appointment at a news conference this morning.

Murphy, 38, was at a council meeting in Alhambra on Monday night and unavailable for comment. He is scheduled to assume his duties in Newport Beach in March, replacing City Manager Robert L. Wynn, who is retiring after 20 years with the city.

Though Murphy’s new salary was not disclosed, the Newport Beach city manager has been one of the highest paid municipal officials in Orange County. Wynn earned $143,000 a year.

The prestigious position oversees directors of 16 departments, manages a $90-million budget, helps advise the City Council, and acts as the administration’s final decision-maker.

Murphy, who earned $100,000 annually in Alhambra, has been with that city for 12 years. He rose quickly through the ranks from an assistant to the manager to become one of the youngest city managers in the state in 1983.

Reputed as a go-getter, Murphy is well-liked and respected by his colleagues at Alhambra City Hall, where he took on a number of important roles for the northern Los Angeles County suburb.

He was the area’s top advocate for the controversial Long Beach Freeway expansion, which, proponents say, could bring more commerce and convenience to Alhambra’s residents.

The search for a new city manager began smoothly in November with dozens of qualified prospects nationwide applying for the job. But the process became complicated when Dixon, a finalist some thought was a shoo-in for the post, was arrested on embezzlement charges in January.

Two other finalists who were not Newport Beach city employees withdrew their applications amid the Dixon affair. The setbacks cost the city time and effort as officials reeled from the arrest and were forced to begin re-interviewing a new list of final candidates.