Sacramento Bee: Sacramento's New Interim City Manager Bill Edgar

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April 7, 2011

Sacramento names Bill Edgar interim city manager

Sacramento City Hall has enlisted a pair of familiar faces to help guide it through the next few tumultuous months.

In a unanimous vote, the City Council voted Thursday to appoint former city manager Bill Edgar as the interim city manager for the next six months while a permanent candidate for the job is sought. Edgar was city manager from 1993 to 1999.

Most recently, Edgar chaired a council-appointed Charter Review Committee formed in the wake of Mayor Kevin Johnson's strong-mayor proposal. In contrast to the mayor's proposal, that committee did not recommend sweeping changes to the way the city is governed.

Edgar will take the helm on Saturday, the day after Interim City Manager Gus Vina steps down.
Assisting Edgar will be Betty Masuoka, a former assistant city manager who recently served as City Hall's consultant on the arena land swap proposal involving Cal Expo, the Arco Arena site and the downtown railyard.

Their job won't be simple. In the next few months, the city will tackle a $40 million deficit, council redistricting and the ongoing push to build a new sports arena.

In announcing the vote to appoint Edgar and Masuoka, the mayor jokingly asked the pair from his chair at the council dais, "are you sure you want this?"

For his part, Edgar said he was "pleased and honored."

It's fairly significant that the council vote on this was unanimous. The council had voted 5-4 earlier this year to conduct a national search for the city manager's job. Some on the council, including the mayor, wanted to give the job outright to Vina.