On the morning of John Nachbar’s record sixth anniversary as city manager of Culver City, how different is he from his predecessors?
“That would be difficult to judge,” says former City Councilman Andy Weissman.
After the City Charter was changed 10 years ago – from the primary executive being a chief administrative officer to the more powerful role of the city manager – the name plate on Jerry Fulwood’s desk was switched from CAO to city manager.
“I didn’t work with Jerry for very long,” said Mr. Weissman, elected to the Council in April 2008. In September, the 62-year-old Mr. Fulwood, in his sixth year, announced his retirement.
“You can’t really compare John Nachbar with his predecessors,” said Mr. Weissman, “because the CAO form of government was not the same government.
“When Dale Jones (in the 1980s) and Jody Hall-Esser (in the ‘90s) were CAOs, and when Fulwood was hired (in 2002) as a CAO, the City Council hired and fired department heads.
“They had their fingers in the operations of the various departments. Once the transition was made to a city manager, and you have the 10 fingers out of the inner workings of the departments, the city manager’s role was entirely different. The city manager, for the first time, would be responsible for the day-to-day. Now for the first time, the person holding that job would also be responsible for the people in those departments.”
It has been said that a family could live here for a year and not realize Mr. Nachbar is the CEO, the city manager, so low is his profile.
Mr. Weissman concurred. “That is what, and the way, a city manager should be,” he said. “If the city manager is serving alongside Council, you need to keep to yourself. You don’t want to outshine your elected officials who have hiring and firing responsibilities.”
Mr. Weissman said that if there were a city manager handbook, “that would be Rule No. 1 or 2.”
The answer to the original question, about comparing him to predecessors, is that “John has done a superb job.
“It is hard to compare him with city managers because none (Mr. Fulwood, Mark Scott, Lamont Ewell) has served as long as John has.”
All three gentlemen served less than a year at the manager’s desk.
For Mr. Nachbar’s part, at 60 years old, he said he has no imminent plans to retire. His professional history vouches for that. When he hires on, Mr. Nachbar stays. He was city manager of Overland Park, KS, for 10 years when Culver City chose him.