Pasadena to Replace City Manager Hawkey

Ending years of political jockeying over the fate of Pasadena City Manager Phil Hawkey, the City Council has decided to replace him a year before his contract expires.

Only three weeks after it agreed to let Hawkey serve out his contract, the council abruptly decided Monday night to start looking for a replacement next month.

The council approved a motion stating that “for reasons having to do with his performance evaluation” Hawkey will retain his job only for the next six to nine months to provide for a “graceful transition” to a new city manager.

The 4-2 vote startled and angered Hawkey. “I [feel] totally ambushed,” he said at the meeting Monday night. “I think my reputation, personally and professionally, has been defamed. . . . I do believe my legal rights have been violated.”

Hawkey has held his job by the slimmest of margins. He was selected for the post seven years ago.