In praise of government: Audrey Seymour honored for promoting the profession of city management In praise of government: Audrey Seymour honored for promoting the profession of city management (February 16, 2005)

By Rebecca Wallace

Almanac Staff Writer

Menlo Park Mayor Mickie Winkler had something up her sleeve at the February 8 council meeting -- or, rather, hidden in a recycling bin.

"I found these in the garbage," she joked as she handed Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour an enormous bouquet of flowers that she'd stashed away as a surprise.

The occasion? The mayor was congratulating Ms. Seymour for being chosen from hundreds of assistant city managers statewide to receive the John H. Nail Award the previous week. The honor is bestowed annually by the League of California Cities.

Ms. Seymour says she was thrilled: "As my mom said, California's a big state."

City Manager David Boesch, who nominated Ms. Seymour, calls the award "very prestigious" and says it recognizes contributions to the Menlo Park community and city government, and to the profession of city management. Ms. Seymour, who has been in her job since 2001, certainly fits the bill, he says.

Besides overseeing city administrative services such as finance and personnel and helping residents with concerns, Ms. Seymour gets praise for her writing and editing, Mr. Boesch says. Council members have publicly given her kudos for the clarity of her staff reports -- not an easy feat when issues are complex.

As for boosting the profession of city management, that's been a crusade of Ms. Seymour's for some time. She's worried about the trouble local governments are having recruiting talented people. Palo Alto City Manager Frank Benest recently called it "a quiet crisis."

"It's a generational issue," Ms. Seymour says. "The next generation is so much smaller than the baby boomers, and government isn't as appealing a career as it might have been. There are perceptions about it being bureaucratic and bogged down in red tape, as opposed to being noble."

Furthermore, students don't often hear about city management as a possible profession -- or even know what it is, she adds. But in the current budget doldrums, cities can't launch recruitment campaigns, she says; they're trying to keep from laying people off.

So Ms. Seymour is looking a few years down the road, anticipating that many baby boomers will be retiring and vacancies opening up at top levels.

"Right now we're focusing on people who are working in local government and aspiring to move up, making sure they have training and mentoring to do that," she says.

So, Mr. Boesch says, he often uses his second-in-command as an internal trainer; she helps other city employees sharpen their staff reports and improve their presentation skills so they can more effectively address the City Council.

"She really is a resource," he says.

A graduate of Duke University with a master's in business administration from Stanford University, Ms. Seymour previously was assistant to the city manager in Palo Alto. She also founded the Peninsula Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families, a collaboration of San Mateo County groups that helps at-risk children and promotes kindergarten readiness.

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