March 2005
Top 10 Reasons We Hired the City Manager
Here are 10 answers to the question, Why did the Lakewood City Council ask Andrew Neiditz to be Lakewood’s city manager?
10. Experience in Lakewood. Andrew worked in Lakewood City Hall from 1996 to 1999 as Deputy City Manager. He was responsible for economic development, public safety, parks and recreation, and many other programs. Along the way, a number of people got to know him, and told us pretty loudly during the recent city manager selection process that they wanted him for the job.
9. We did not hold his experience in Lakewood against him. So many people recommended Andrew that you had to wonder if it was unfair to the other candidates. Let me assure you that your City Council went even perhaps overboard in considering alternatives. On the one hand, we did not want to treat Andrew any differently than anyone else. That would not have been fair to other candidates, and to the Lakewood taxpayers who only care about getting the best person in that job. But it was only fair to Andrew that we treat him like everyone else. I think we struck that balance.
8. Andrew had extensive experience working for and with Pierce County. Andrew held a number of county posts including Executive Director of Public Safety and Deputy County Executive. It’s no secret that Pierce County government and Lakewood city government get along like a wet cat and rabid dog. We need to build bridges, and Andrew is in a good position to take the lead on Lakewood’s behalf.
7. Andrew has experience working with unions. The new Lakewood police force formed a guild, which is normal for police officers and widely expected. Andrew has experience in and around such negotiations, both recently in Sumner and during his county years. A number of political types in Lakewood like to publicly insult city employees and demand lower salaries. This is the sort of thing that could someday encourage some or all of the rest of City Hall to form a union. I'll let you have your own opinion about unions, and meantime, if there are more of them, Andrew would be able to respond appropriately.
6. Andrew did a great job in Sumner. In Sumner, Andrew was chief administrative officer with a $50 million budget and more than 140 employees. He was involved in economic development of an industrial area in northeast Sumner, including extension of utilities and a new freeway interchange, and negotiation of an agreement between governments for a regional wastewater plant. This is exactly the sort of vision and tactics we need to be able to deploy in the American Lake Gardens area, certainly one of Lakewood’s biggest challenges.
5. His interviews during the job selection process showed wisdom and experience. And, to be blunt, he asked for the job during the interview - few candidates did that, surprisingly, and no one did it as directly. When all is said and done, about four of the candidates who applied to Lakewood would have made fine city managers for us. One candidate in particular would have made a great alternative. Andrew shined partly because he knows Lakewood – that’s an advantage he was wise to use – but also because he came across as profoundly sincere. And if you said to me, ‘So who seemed to want the job the most?’ the answer was pretty clear.
4. He learned from his role as a scapegoat. Andrew was involved in a county scandal several years ago, and left county employment. This is a harsh experience for anyone. As Shakespeare wrote, "Defend your reputation, or bid farewell to your good life for ever." What Andrew did was get the county agency through a transition, and emerge as a wiser person. His explanation of what happened, what he learned, and what he would do differently, is powerful.
Interlude: One of these days, I’d like to write a column about the role of scapegoats. It’s interesting to watch how the role of a scapegoat is so crucial in the unfolding of a scandal. In my last job, I watched a scandal unfold at the University of Washington. The dean of School of Medicine refused to take the fall for the scandal. The University officials refused to make him take the fall. This was surprising, because every scandal requires a sacrifice, like some ancient religion that called for someone to be thrown down stairs or into a pit to appease some deity. That instinct - that a sacrifice will purify us during hard times - remains to this day. When the dean failed to quit, as would be expected, the Seattle Times editorialized that the dean should resign. He did not, and I am sure the Times staff and many members of the public are genuinely puzzled why he did not do so. It was as if you were watching a movie, but there was never an ending.
I did not fully understand the role of a scapegoat until I read a great book that’s also very illuminating about the relationship of the news media, PR people, and the public. I recommend it highly: “’Now’ Is Too Late,” by Gerald Baron of Bellingham.
3. Citizens liked him. As you may know, we asked several city managers to meet the public in a forum, and be interviewed by several panels. The panels included residents, city employees, and city managers. It was interesting that we got a very wide range of reactions. Some candidates were liked by some panels and by certain citizens, and not liked as much in others. Even the one candidate who I think would have made the best alternative if Andrew had never applied did not do well with several people. There was no question that Andrew did well among all groups, in general. Was that perhaps because many people knew and recognized him? I’m sure that has to be partly true. So see items 9 and 10. We did not want to treat him differently – but it was very clear that many people both inside and outside City Hall were treating him differently, but in a good way.
2. Wide experience. As I look over my notes from his first interview, and now that a little time has passed, I see the comments of someone who sees trees and yet who also recognizes forests. That’s good. Lakewood has miles to go as it begins its second decade of cityhood next year. We can always provide better customer service, we can always operate more efficiently, and we can always listen better to our citizens. We can always do a better job of creating, describing, evaluating, and choosing from alternatives. We will do all this in an environment in which people distrust government and people who work in government. There are many specific issues we must confront, ranging from a budget that is already cutting into reserves to very, very thorny neighborhood issues. These are not easy times, and Andrew has not chosen an easy job. He’s brave. I look forward to working with him.
1. His place in the alphabet. ‘Nea’ as in Neary comes right before ‘Nei’ as in Neiditz in the alphabet. If we ever have to line up in City Hall for free ice cream, or something like that, I can line up ahead of him and get ice cream first.
Hey, you asked.