Ewell looking forward to tackling city’s woes
By RYAN HYATT AND CAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writers
CITY HALL — The embattled city manager from San Diego, who was appointed last year to save that city’s government from a very public and controversial financial disaster, is Santa Monica’s newest and highest paid administrator.
The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday announced that it unanimously agreed to hire Lamont Ewell as the new city manager. Ewell will start his job — which pays a base salary of $245,000 a year — on Jan. 16. City Hall also will help finance Ewell’s relocation and provide him with a loan in order to purchase a home in the city.
His appointment follows a nationwide recruitment that attracted more than 60 candidates, and culminated with the City Council’s interviewing six finalists over the past few weeks. Assistant City Manager Gordon Anderson will serve as acting City Manager from Dec. 9 until Ewell takes the helm.
Santa Monica Mayor Pam O’Connor welcomed Ewell, who was met with applause throughout the packed council chambers on Tuesday.
“His resume is impressive, as are his problem-solving and people skills,” she said.
Ewell's career began as a firefighter with the Compton Fire Department in 1975. After serving that department for 19 years in such capacities as deputy fire marshal, deputy fire chief and fire chief, Ewell then served Oakland, Calif., as deputy city manager, assistant city manager and acting city manager. Ewell also served as city manager for Durham, North Carolina, before landing in San Diego.
Ewell has an executive masters degree in general administration from the University of Maryland and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix.
Recruited by San Diego in 2001, he was named assistant City Manager, responsible for the day-to-day operations of all city departments.
The 52-year-old Ewell was appointed as San Diego’s city manager after Michael Uberuaga was forced out in March 2004. The following November, after voters passed a strong mayor measure, Ewell announced he would quit in June 2005, but then agreed to stay on until the end of the year to provide continuity, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
“They asked him to stay on and guide them through the trouble,” said Santa Monica City Hall spokeswoman Judy Rambeau Franz. “He get high marks for integrity and being highly professional.”
The root of the problem in San Diego was that political leaders wanted to spend more than they were taking in, according to the Web site, governing.com They did-n’t have the revenue to offer city employees raises. So, instead, they offered increased pension benefits. Now, San Diego’s pension system is at least $1.4 billion short and there are legal questions as to whether there were improper conflicts of interest that led to overly generous payments, according to governing.com.
The city of San Diego’s books have been under review by federal and local investigators since February 2004, including the Security and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The wrongdoing goes back as far as the mid 1990s, some news reports suggest.
San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre had been publicly aggressive in looking at whether Ewell, his predecessors and the City Council broke laws amidst the financial bungling. Aguirre, known for his public grandstanding, had called repeatedly for Ewell to resign, according to news reports.
Former San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy also called for Ewell’s resignation. However, it was Murphy who stepped down in July. Then his interim replacement, along with another city councilman, were convicted on unrelated corruption charges.
To deal with a $50 million deficit in San Diego, Ewell had to make difficult budget decisions, and return the city to core services. Among the cuts were 200 positions, justified by the fact that 78 percent of San Diego’s budget was payroll. There are about 11,000 people employed by the city of San Diego, which has a budget of about $2.4 billion.
“Mr. Ewell was promoted by the San Diego City Council from assistant city manager in 2004 to help the city navigate some very tough issues,” Santa Monica Mayor O’Connor said. “The confidence the San Diego Council showed in him, and the experience he’s gained throughout his career, give us every confidence that he is the right person at the right time for Santa Monica.
“We welcome him and his family to our community.”
On Tuesday, Ewell said he looks forward to putting the San Diego experience behind him and starting fresh in Santa Monica.
“San Diego was a great city to work for but it had its problems with pensions and disclosures that go back for many years,” he said. “I look forward to working with an agency that will never have that again.”
Ewell added that Santa Monica has proven it can handle its issues effectively, citing traffic congestion, affordable housing and the homeless population.
“Santa Monica is regarded as a city that is willing to look at issues straight on,” he said. “I’m elated to help find solutions. I know it will not be an easy task, especially considering that I am following in the footsteps of one of the greatest city managers in the nation.”
Santa Monica City Manager Susan McCarthy announced this summer that she will be retiring. Her last City Council meeting was Tuesday night and her last day on the job is Dec. 8.
Ewell and his wife, Mary, have two grown children.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 23, 2005. Read the original PDF.