Chandler Council: Longtime Mesa admin is acting city manager
Mayor, 1 council member wanted more process for $30K/month position
Independent Newsmedia/Jason W. Brooks
Chandler City Council member Jennifer Hawkins speaks during a May meeting. Hawkins spoke at a June 26 meeting just before being the lone “no” vote on council hiring John Pombier as acting city manager, saying he’s very qualified but she would have preferred a much more transparent process.
Independent Newsmedia/Jason W. Brooks
Chandler’s newly hired acting city manager, John Pombier, stands for applause at the City Council’s June 26 meeting. On the left is Chandler Fire Chief Tom Dwiggins; on the right is Assistant Chandler Police Chief Melissa Deanda.
Even with some dissent about procedure, the Chandler City Council made a decision in the final week of June to hire an acting city manager.
And they’re going to pay him $30,000 per month until they find a permanent one.
Jeff Pombier will technically start July 13 as City Manager Josh Wright winds down to his last day Aug. 1. His first full day on the job will be Monday, July 14, after Council interviewed him a June 17 executive session and decided to hire him as acting city manager.
The vote to hire Pombier was by a 6-1 Council vote. Jennifer Hawkins, the council’s only first-year member, said had there been a transparent and open process, she would have been more comfortable voting in favor of the hire.
Hawkins made a point of saying Pombier’s plenty qualified and her vote was not about the applicant, but the process.
“The process was rushed through in a manner that lacked public input, didn’t allow for broader public interests to be considered and didn’t bring any additional options to the table,” Hawkins told the rest of council. “That just doesn’t sit right with me.”
Hawkins pointed out that she ran for council on a platform of transparency and accountability.
“A process that’s public, inclusive and always, always, always brings to the table all viable options, that’s how we build trust and ultimately make the best decisions for our community,” Hawkins said.
Mayor Kevin Hartke indicated that Pombier was the only person interviewed for the position, saying he would have preferred if there had been more.
“I agree with everything Jennifer has said, in terms of I had wanted multiple people, internals and others,” Hartke said. “I concur that I wished we were able to do multiple interviews in this process.”
Council member O.D. Harris appeared to disagree with Hawkins, saying his proud of the way council and staff handled the appointment of Pombier.
“Our residents hire us to make decisions like this,” Harris said. “We only hire four staff members directly (city manager, city attorney, city clerk and presiding magistrate, per the city charter), and I think we did a good job. I’ll think we’ll be even more transparent with our national search for a replacement.”
Harris said when Wright put in his notice, “two names came to mind,” The other person considered, in addition to Pombier, wasn’t identified.
The city's charter doesn't articulate a detailed process for appointing an acting city manager, other than to state council has that authority.
Neither Chandler assistant city manager Tadd Willie, nor deputy city manager / chief financial officer Dawn Lang nor deputy city manager Andy Bass, apparently expressed any interest in being appointed acting city manager.
On June 17, mayor and council interviewed Pombier in an executive session. Combined with executive sessions on June 9 and 23, aside from having Pombier’s name on the June 17 agenda, the June 26 regular meeting was the only public part of the process in appointing an acting city manager.
Pombier, spent 19 years with the city of Mesa, finishing as an assistant city manager, before leaving for Amazon, where he was once listed as a “senior manager community engagement consultant.”
Pombier has a law degree from Arizona State University. Harris said Pombier was legal counsel for an Arizona governor at one point in his career.
While Hawkins said the process seemed rushed, it ended up cutting it fairly close. Pombier will only have three weeks working alongside Wright to learn firsthand how the city runs.
Chandler spokesperson Matt Burdick said nothing in Pombier’s contract prevents him from applying for the permanent city manager position in the weeks and months ahead. But he’ll have to be among applicants who are part of a lengthy — and likely expensive — search and interview process.
Wright was promoted after a brief process in 2021 to interim city manager, from his assistant city manager position, when Marsha Reed retired. Wright was named as the permanent replacement after a national search.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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