Reaction to Lemoore City Manager's surprise resignation

Mayor Lois Wynne, in a press release dated Thursday, confirmed that Laws will be stepping down on March 6, 2015. Wynne did not give any reasons for the abrupt resignation.

Laws was hired in November of 2013 following a five-month long search to replace former city manager Jeff Briltz, who was unceremoniously dismissed in April, by a council led by then Mayor Billy Siegel.

Laws was the interim city manager for about six months prior to his hiring. Only 16 prospective applicants vied for the city manager’s job and four were selected for final interviews. Laws initially was not one of the final four, and professed to not wanting the full-time job. However, the meager applicant pool prompted him to enter the fray and he surprisingly got the job, despite a lack of experience in city management.

Councilmembers, during their November meeting in 2013, approved an employment contract with Laws. Earlier, they voted 4-1, with Councilmember Eddie Neal dissenting, to reward Laws with permanent status.

While acknowledging that Laws was good chief of police, Neal, wondered what kind of message the council sent by hiring laws. "What kind of message are we sending?" he said in 2013. If I want to work at Leprino, I have to take a test. I don't care how many people say you're a good guy ... if you don't pass the test you're not going to get that job.”

Neal said at the time he didn’t have any personal animosity toward Laws. “He's a great chief of police, but we want a city manager, not a chief of police."

Since his appointment, Laws has endured several controversies including having to deal with the behavior of former mayor Siegel, himself the subject of a failed recall in 2014 as well as a recent action taken by council members to remove him from his mayor’s post, the first Lemoore mayor ever to be removed from office.

Laws and the council have also been mired in controversies involving the Lemoore Golf Course and Economic Development Corporation. 

Laws has been with the City for 18 years, and has served as Commander and Chief of the Lemoore Police Department with his most recent service to the City as city manager.

The resignation took several by surprise, including former councilmember Willard Rodarmel, who was recently defeated in his bid for a third council term in November. “I’m shocked,” he said. “I’d like to know what’s going on. There’s got to be more (to it) but I have no idea.”

Rodarmel, who was one of the four councilmembers who voted to hire Laws in 2013, acknowledged that he may have been inexperienced, but said he also worked hard. “He didn’t know a lot, but he would always try to find the answer.”

He also acknowledged that as a city manager, Laws was a work in progress. “He had his weak points, and he had his strong points,” said Rodarmel.

City Council newcomer Ray Madrigal, who recently won a full four-year term in November, was more introspect, mixing some praise and a healthy dose of optimism as Lemoore faces the prospect of finding a new city manager.

"I would first like to thank City Manager Jeff Laws for his dedication and commitment to the community of Lemoore as city manager and chief of police over the past 18 years,” said Madrigal.  “He has been the consummate public servant.  With his leaving, we are now faced with a huge responsibility, as well as an opportunity to shape the city’s future through the selection process for the next city manager.”

Madrigal called the city manager’s job one of the most important jobs in city government and Lemoore needs to find someone with the “knowledge, skills, and abilities we need in a city manager.”

Madrigal suggested the city needs to find someone with proven leadership skills, experience and the education needed for an executive leadership position. He also said the process must be “open, fair and objective to ensure the selection is based upon the merit principle.”

According to Wynne’s short press release, Laws career in public safety work spans more than 30 years and began in 1984 as a reserve police officer in Porterville.  In 1985, Laws accepted the position of police officer for the Lindsay Police Department.  In 1989, Laws was promoted to Sergeant in Lindsay. 

His service to the citizens of Lemoore began in 1997, when hired by the City as a Commander. 

According to Lemoore City Mayor Lois Wynne, “Jeff Laws has been a valuable resource to the City of Lemoore and will be greatly missed.  In his short time as City Manager, he has moved us in the direction of becoming more business friendly and preparing for future economic growth as he always has the best interests of the City in mind.”