The Morgan Hill City Council’s choice for the next city manager brings a wealth of financial expertise and knowledge of the city’s culture and operations to her prospective new post as City Hall’s top staff person, according to a majority of the elected officials.
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Christina Turner, who has served as Morgan Hill’s Assistant City Manager for Administrative Services since the beginning of 2016, was selected Sept. 6 as the best applicant for the job of city manager. The council voted 4-1 in closed session to authorize the mayor and city attorney to begin negotiating an employment contract with Turner. Councilman Rich Constantine voted against the motion, but he agrees with his elected colleagues that Turner will do a “fantastic job” as city manager.
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Mayor Steve Tate said the council is expecting to approve a finalized contract—which will specify Turner’s salary, benefits and other compensation—by Sept. 27.
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Turner will be replacing City Manager Steve Rymer, whose salary in 2016 was about $248,000. The city hired Turner at an annual salary of about $189,000 in 2016, not including benefits.
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Rymer accepted a job in early August as the City Administrator of Rochester, Minn. He will continue working for Morgan Hill until the end of September.
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Turner, who the city hired from the City of Gilroy in January 2016, said she is excited to begin working as Morgan Hill’s city manager as soon as the negotiations are complete.
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She cited her previous work in South County—which brings a depth of knowledge of the region where Morgan Hill officials are continually in pursuit of ongoing partnerships—as one aspect of her qualifications for city manager. She also thinks her “strong financial background” in both the public and private sector influenced the council’s decision to point to her as the top candidate for the job.
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As city manager, Turner said she wants to “continue to cultivate the good morale we enjoy at the city, and find ways to keep the team energized and doing great things for Morgan Hill.”
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She added, “We have an amazing group of talented professionals.”
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On Sept. 6, the council interviewed Turner and three other city staff members for the city manager’s position. The other applicants who made it to the council interview were Police Chief David Swing, Community Services Director Chris Ghione and Economic Development Director Edith Ramirez.
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The interviews included a series of questions from the council members, as well as a self evaluation, Tate said.
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“They all did a fantastic job,” Tate said. “Any one of them could have done the job (of city manager). Christina came out a little bit better than anyone else. She’ll be an outstanding team leader, and keep the same spirit going that Steve (Rymer) has created. We’re very excited to have her.”
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Councilman Larry Carr added that the city would have been in “excellent hands” with any of the four finalists, but Turner “rose a little bit more to the top.”
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“Christina brings a little bit of a unique financial background from both the public and private sector that will help us in the future as we move forward,” Carr said.
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Councilwoman Caitlin Jachimowicz added that Turner’s familiarity with Morgan Hill after working about 18 months as one of two assistant city managers illustrates her diverse knowledge of what it takes to lead City Hall’s staff of about 193 public works, planning and development, police, community services and administrative employees.
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“She is passionate about the collaborative culture we have at City Hall, and I expect a seamless transition,” Jachimowicz added. “Overall, I think she is just what we need right now to tackle some financial challenges coming our way.”
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Councilman Rene Spring shared similar sentiments: “It was a very tough choice to select our next city manager from this great pool of internal candidates!” he said in a press release from City Hall. “They all greatly impressed me, and I look forward to continuing working with all of them. I am very excited to work with Christina Turner as our new city manager. Christina will be a great city manager for Morgan Hill and has my full support.”
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One councilman in dissent
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While Councilman Rich Constantine agreed that all four of the city manager applicants who made it to council interviews were all “good applicants” for the job, he voted against the Sept. 6 closed session motion to negotiate with Turner. He said he felt the majority of the council was leaning toward Turner for reasoning he described as “not fair.”
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“I think Christina is going to be a great city manager. However, I didn’t like the reason (for picking her)—it was because she was a woman,” Constantine said of the council’s discussion. “I don’t like when people are picked because of their race or gender. That’s where the conversation went, and seemed to be stopped.”
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That said, Constantine said he is “extremely satisfied” with the selection of Turner for the job. “I look at the future as being very bright for Morgan Hill.”
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Constantine declined to specify which of the four candidates he preferred.
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The council expects to approve a finalized contract for salary and other compensation at their Sept. 27 meeting.
