Irvine hires from within and makes interim city manager permanent

The Irvine City Council unanimously selected Interim City Manager Sean Crumby to serve on a permanent basis during a council meeting Tuesday.

Crumby is the city’s seventh city manager. He succeeds Oliver Chi, who departed in May to take the same post in Santa Monica.

“I think he enjoys the confidence of his colleagues,” Mayor Larry Agran said of Crumby. “In my view, this is an outstanding appointment that we’re making.”

After serving on an interim basis for the past four months, Crumby signed onto to a three-year “evergreen” contract with an annual salary of about $435,000. His salary and benefits are commensurate with what Chi earned in the position.

Crumby counts 17 years working in director and executive level roles, including his service as public works director in Huntington Beach and assistant city manager in Seal Beach prior to his arrival at Irvine City Hall in 2023.

“It has been a privilege to serve the Irvine community in an interim capacity, and I am both humbled and honored to continue as Irvine’s next city manager,” Crumby said in a city news release. “I am deeply grateful to the City Council for their confidence, to our dedicated staff for their professionalism and to our residents for their trust. It’s an incredible honor to help lead this great city, one that continues to set the standard for innovation, sustainability and quality of life.”

Some Irvine residents questioned councilmembers’ decision to make the appointment without conducting an open search.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the Irvine Watchdog blog’s editorial board criticized the move as a “shortcut” that hampered transparency and competition.

Susan Sayer, a resident and Irvine Watchdog contributor, spoke approvingly of Crumby’s interim tenure but called for him to continue serving in that capacity while the city searched for a permanent replacement for Chi.

“What is the reason behind the circumvention?” Sayer asked councilmembers. “This greatly concerns me that the City Council and city attorney are even considering abandoning the open search process. The city manager position is a very important one.”

Agran acknowledged the city could have conducted an open search, but said Irvine has appointed city managers in the past.

“The people on this dais at the time felt — and I think judgment has been proved correct — that on an interim basis Crumby would demonstrate that he would be an outstanding city manager,” the mayor said. “I had little doubt that he would demonstrate that. There are tremendous advantages to promoting from within.”

Councilmembers Melinda Liu, Betty Martinez Franco and James Mai all spoke approvingly of hiring Crumby. Liu confirmed the council was not legally obligated to conduct an open search.

“Sean has proven to be a very capable steward of this position,” she said. “This is a great choice for us to move the city ahead.”

Councilmember William Go briefly asked if there was a legal requirement for Crumby to live in Irvine in order to serve as its city manager. City Atty. Jeffrey Melching said the contract had no residency requirement, which would be illegal anyway.

With that, councilmembers voted 7-0 to appoint Crumby to lead City Hall.

“I couldn’t see anybody else that would come from the outside to fit this role,” Mai told Crumby. “You’re a model match for the city…and I’m sure you’ll do very well with us.”