Compton Official Hired for Top Lynwood Job : Government: Laurence Adams, no stranger to controversy, is expected to assume his new post Nov. 2.

Laurence H. Adams, director of Compton’s beleaguered redevelopment agency, will take over as Lynwood city manager next month.

The Lynwood job opened in May when Michael Heriot suddenly resigned, citing personal reasons. Heriot, also a former Compton administrator, quit on the heels of allegations that he had improperly obtained a $30,000 low-interest city loan for personal use. Heriot has repaid the loan, City Councilman Armando Rea said.

Adams, who said he expects to take over as city manager Nov. 2, is no stranger to controversy. Adams was fired for inadequate performance as director of the Compton Redevelopment Agency in 1988 by then-City Manager James Goins. Adams, the son of former Compton City Councilman Robert Adams, also was criticized for soliciting funds for Camp Fire Inc. from companies doing business with the city. Adams, who sat on the charity’s board, denied the charges.

Adams appealed the firing and was rehired as a special assistant to the city manager two years later, after Goins was fired. Adams again became redevelopment director in July, 1991.

In a special session arranged on Saturday for the applicants’ convenience, the Lynwood City Council voted unanimously to hire Adams. He will make about $96,000 a year, Rea said.

Adams, 36, described his track record in Compton as exemplary.

“My reinstatement demonstrates there was nothing going on,” he said of having been fired and rehired. “I was essentially promoted three times and entrusted with managing the economic stabilization of Compton. Let the work I’ve done speak for me, as far as that issue goes.”

Compton officials who differed with Adams on redevelopment issues cautiously praised his management abilities.

“I think he will make a fine city manager, as long as the council makes good decisions,” said Compton Councilman Omar Bradley, an outspoken opponent of several development deals made during Adams’ tenure. “The council really has to stay on top of everything . . . with any city manager.”

Compton Councilwoman Patricia A. Moore also praised Adams, pointing out that she opposed him on some redevelopment projects, including the Ramada Hotel--a $35-million project that the city was forced to take over two years ago.

“Laurence and I have not always agreed,” she said. “There have been times when I felt like he should not have accepted just whatever a developer wanted from the city.”

But Adams “learned to represent the city more vehemently,” she said. “I believe Lynwood is getting a very strong city manager.”

Adams is the latest in a series of Compton managers who have been hired by Lynwood, a practice some Lynwood residents criticized at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Lynwood resident Patricia Carr argued that Lynwood Councilman Paul H. Richards II--who is also the assistant city manager in Compton and a close friend of Compton Mayor Walter R. Tucker III--is packing City Hall with his friends.

“Paul is playing a political move to basically control both Compton and Lynwood,” said Carr, a former member of a Lynwood advisory commission. “I think it’s a conflict of interest that Paul even voted for him. He works directly with Adams in Compton.”

Richards defended the practice of hiring Compton employees, who he said also have been hired by several other cities. “Compton is an excellent training ground for administrators. There aren’t very many strong training grounds for African-Americans and Latinos,” he said.

In choosing Adams, the City Council passed over candidates who had served as city managers in other cities, including Lynwood’s interim City Manager Faustin Gonzales. But Richards pointed out that after an independent firm screened the applicants, the council found Adams to be the best qualified.

“What stood out was the nature and scope of his experience, even though the others had served as city managers at one point or another,” said Richards, adding that the consultant paid close attention to Adams’ track record in Compton.

“That aspect of his background was discussed at length. Adams was fully reinstated and the things that were alleged did not actually occur.

“He was very, very well prepared for the interview,” Richards said. “He understood our general plan. He understood with great clarity our budgets.”

The council plans to negotiate the terms of Adams’ contract in a special meeting Friday, Rea said.