City Manager of Glendora Resigns Amid Controversy

GLENDORA —  Amid a controversy over growth that has divided the City Council and the growing prospect of a financial crunch, City Manager James Evans last week resigned the position he has held for more than a decade.

Evans, 49, agreed to resign Wednesday night while meeting with the City Council in executive session.

“It was a mutual understanding between me and the council that I would resign,” Evans said. “I’ve had a good relationship with this council and the other councils over 10 1/2 years. I think the council was looking for a change.”

Art Cook, Glendora’s director of public works, took over as acting city manager Thursday. The council is expected to decide Tuesday whether he will remain in the post until Evans’ successor is chosen.

Mayor Lois Shade offered a terse explanation for Evans’ departure.

“Jim Evans resigned simply because of some basic differences in managerial philosophy,” Shade said, declining to elaborate. Councilman Larry Glenn echoed the mayor’s comments and referred further questions on the matter to Shade.

Asked about Shade’s statement that his resignation was the result of philosophical differences, Evans replied: “I would say that she was right.”

Aggressive Manager Sought

Councilman David S. Bodley said he believed the council was seeking a city manager who would be more aggressive in recruiting investors for the city’s growing number of vacant commercial properties.

Glendora’s need for revenue has been exacerbated by the recent financial problems of Grand Chevrolet and Grand Motors, which accounted for one-third of the city’s $3 million annual sales tax revenue.

“We really need someone to concentrate on that, and I don’t feel it’s the council’s job to go out and be involved with those negotiations (with potential investors),” Bodley said.

Bodley, who was elected to the council in April, is a member of Glendora Pride--a citizens group formed last year to protest what some residents considered excessive development of the city’s hillsides. He acknowledged that the presence of a slow-growth advocate on the council may have influenced Evans’ resignation.

“There are different views on the council now and it does make the manager’s job a little more difficult, and that may have added to his decision,” he said.

Two former mayors also attributed Evans’ resignation in part to what they viewed as the disruptive influence of Glendora Pride and Bodley’s election, which they said has led to a fractious City Council unable to agree on a direction for the city.

“It just isn’t a good atmosphere,” said Kenneth Prestesater, a contractor who stepped down as mayor in April after deciding not to seek reelection. “I think the pressure has gotten to him and that’s the reason he decided it was time for him to leave.”

Election Battle

The April election pitted two well-established civic leaders against two members of the city’s burgeoning slow-growth movement. Glenn, then Chamber of Commerce president, was the top vote-getter. But longtime council incumbent John Gordon was defeated and replaced by Bodley.

Prestesater said the strong showing by Glendora Pride’s candidate was the result of longstanding voter apathy.

“It’s the community’s own fault,” Prestesater said. “The reason this happened is there was only a 16% turnout. Only 16% of the people voted, but 100% of the Pride group voted.”

The newly constituted council was unable for several weeks to decide on a new mayor, with two members each supporting Shade and Councilman Bob Kuhn and Mayor Pro-Tem Leonard Martyns declining to choose. The council finally agreed on a compromise: The mayor’s post will rotate annually, with each council member having a turn.

“It’s no secret in Glendora that the City Council is a divided council,” said former mayor Guy Williams. “I have not seen anyone assume leadership on the council.”

Development Issues

Even with Bodley on the council, Glendora Pride has been displeased with the city’s handling of development issues. In particular, the group opposed the council’s decision last month to increase the height limit for houses from 25 to 30 feet. Glendora Pride is trying to qualify a ballot referendum on the new height limit.

Williams said Evans’ resignation was “the result of Bodley being elected to the council and the turmoil he’s brought to the council, and the agitation that’s been brought forth by the Pride group.”

While he declined to give specific reasons for his decision, Evans said the slow-growth movement in Glendora was not a major factor.

“I think many of the issues that have surfaced in other communities have started to surface in Glendora and we’re following suit with the regional issues that are affecting Southern California,” Evans said. “I think these regional issues . . . are all making local government a greater challenge for both elected and appointed people.”

Glendora Pride President Darleen Avina also rejected the assertion that pressure from the group led Evans to leave his post.

“I don’t see how on earth Glendora Pride had anything to do with Jim Evans’ resignation,” Avina said. “Maybe it got a little too hot in the kitchen, but the position he’s in, the city manager position, should be able to listen to the citizens.

“If the City Council’s divided, it’s because it’s not listening to the people in this town. It’s listening to the select few who have been running this town for years.”

Second to Resign

Evans is the second high-ranking city staff member to resign in recent months. In July, Planning Director Jim Nash left to take a similar position with the city of Manhattan Beach. Nash denied that the growth controversy affected his decision, but said the council lacks its previous cohesiveness.

“The staff is guided by the policies set forth by the council,” Nash said. “The change in the council did represent a more divergent view on growth and development. Certainly that makes it a little more difficult to sort out.”

Bodley said he shares this view and believes the council should try to find a strong city manager to balance opposing viewpoints and provide direction.

“I think we need someone to be more aggressive with the council,” he said. “Because now you have a diversity on the council, you need a cohesive force.”