Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/paul-emery/)
Anaheim City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Chris Zapata as the new city manager, ending a more than year-long leadership transition where three top executive roles were filled by temporary replacements.
Anaheim City Council members Tuesday will consider appointing Chris Zapata, the former city manager of San Leandro, as the city’s top executive, less than a week after Zapata announced he would step down from leading the city of 90,000. Zapata had been accused, and cleared, of sexual misconduct while city manager.
If city council members approve his appointment Tuesday, Jorge Cisneros, the chief of the University of California, Irvine police department, will become Anaheim Police Chief in mid-July.
It was another year of political drama in the city of Anaheim, after an election upset in November 2016 tipped political power in Mayor Tom Tait’s favor.
Anaheim Police Chief Raul Quezada didn’t have all of the information when he briefed City Council members in February about a Ku Klux Klan rally that exploded into violence, according to an internal human resources investigation conducted by the city
The city manager now will be able to approve contracts worth $50,000 or less.
The City Council will review a report on the civilian oversight committee and discuss whether or not they want it to continue.
Supporters of a plan to slash City Manager Paul Emery’s signing authority on city contracts from $100,000 to $50,000 say it will increase accountability. But opponents said it shows a lack of faith in Emery and will bog down the city government.
After a spate of officer-involved shootings in 2012 that led to protests and a night of rioting, the city set up a public safety board to keep watch over the police. Today, some residents say the board is a “joke.”
After years as the Anaheim City Council’s underdog, Mayor Tom Tait is now leading a four-member majority that promises to focus more on community services and less on subsidies for the city’s tourism industry.