REGIME CHANGE AT THE TOP Susan McCarthy, 60, who has worked for City Hall for 23 years and served as City Manager since 1999, announced in July that she’d be retiring. She’s held positions in the cultural affairs department, worked her way up to the director of human resources department, served as assistant city manager and then onto City Hall’s top job.
McCarthy has overseen more than 1,000 employees within City Hall, managed the day-to-day operations of one of the most dynamic and diverse cities in the world, and handled a roughly $350 million annual budget.
With her at the helm, city officials were fiscally responsible when Santa Monica enjoyed a strong economy in the 1990s. That revenue was invested and channeled into large capital improvement projects like the overhauling of Virginia Avenue Park, which opened in November and the Main Library, scheduled to open in January.
The Santa Monica City Council in November named her replacement, Lamont Ewell, the City Manager in San Diego, which is attempting to recover from a $1.4 billion pension deficit, investigations by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Securities and Exchange Commission, criminal charges against six pension board members, as well as an inability to sell bonds until a long-awaited audit is completed, according to news reports.
Ewell was hired to help that city out of its financial mess. The Santa Monica City Council — which unanimously approved making Ewell City Hall’s top administrator after screening more than 60 applicants — has cited his integrity in helping San Diego and other municipalities overcome obstacles as a basis for their decision in choosing him. He starts his job on Jan. 14.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 31, 2005. Read the original PDF.