By james art 
In a 7-1 vote, the Santa Fe City Council green-lighted Mayor Alan Weber’s appointment of Tourism Director Randy Randall to the role of interim city manager Monday afternoon.
Former City Manager John Blair announced his resignation Oct. 22 to take an as-yet-undisclosed job in Washington. His last day was November 1. On Oct. 25, Weber initially appointed City Attorney Erin McSherry to the role of interim city manager, but he withdrew that selection days later at McSherry’s request.
The mayor appointed Randall, who also served as interim community development director, to the role on Nov. 1. Jordan Guenther, currently marketing director of the city’s tourism department, will serve as interim tourism director, the mayor told SFR. Randall will also step down from his other interim position, leaving a vacancy to head the community development department. Randall took the position after Rich Brown stepped down in June. City Communications Director Regina Ruiz tells SFR the city is “actively recruiting” for the position.
Weber says he chose Randall because of his unparalleled managerial experience.
“Randy and I have already started talking about the highest priorities right now in addition to making sure all the day-to-day work of the city manager is done,” the mayor says. “So we’re not hitting pause. We press go. But I think Randy knows his experience will be important. His relationships with all existing city department heads are important and they trust him.”
District 2 City Councilman Michael Garcia was the lone vote against Randle’s appointment, saying he didn’t see it as good “from a public administration standpoint.”
“My no vote was no disrespect to Mr. Randall … I don’t believe we should be pulling employees from critical positions, especially when someone is in an active position in one of our busiest departments,” Garcia said. “When you’re running the community development department and there’s affordable housing vacancies on top of that, I just think we need to really work on filling positions instead of pulling positions and leaving less staff to really get the job done .”
Ward 3 City Councilor Lee Garcia was absent.
The scene descended into chaos moments after Ward 1 City Councilor Signe Lindel claimed personal privilege and condemned statements made by Garcia — without naming him — in The New Mexican Santa Fe last week after the mayor withdrew McSherry’s appointment.
Lindell said the District 2 councilor violated procedural rules by revealing confidential information from executive session during the governing body’s Oct. 30 meeting, and she hopes “that never happens again,” even suggesting the governing body to receive training soon.
Garcia intervened, saying the allegations were “false and without merit” and Lindell’s behavior was “improper” and an “attempt to silence” councilors from giving their opinion.
“It may come as a surprise to some, but there were conversations that were held beforehand … that led me to believe that the support was not there,” he said. “Now I will reiterate that there was no confidential information that I disclosed.”
He then read the exact quote posted: “I think Mayor Weber did not have enough support from the City Council to get his requested appointment as City Manager confirmed in the interim. I have full faith and confidence that the Deputy City Manager [Layla] Archuletta-Maestas has the skills and experience to carry out the necessary duties as Mayor Weber moves forward with the appointment of a City Manager.”
Garcia’s opinion, which he expressed to the publication, was based on “conversations held before the executive session,” he said. Garcia called Lindell’s allegations “false and without merit” and expressed his belief that they amounted to harassment.
“It’s a silencing attitude that several on this board have continually applied to me that is very unfair not only to me, but to the constituents that I represent,” Garcia said.
Weber said he believes “it’s always good to review our policies and procedures” and said trust between the governing body is paramount. He then supported Lindell’s call for training and guidance going forward.
“We can all do better,” Weber said. “And I think we can all be more careful and careful about the demands we place on ourselves to maintain a sense of trust that the things that are said won’t be shared inappropriately, whether that’s happened in this case or not.’
Randall began working with the city as tourism director in 2014. In this role, he oversees sales and marketing efforts and manages four city visitor centers as well as the operation of the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. Randall’s resume includes multiple management roles. Prior to joining the city team, he served as general manager of the Eldorado Hotel, senior vice president of operations for a Denver-based hotel management company, and as director of operations for resorts in Virginia and Puerto Rico.
After more than 10 years with the city, Randall tells SFR it’s a “true honor” to serve as interim city manager.
“I feel good. I look forward to working with the administration and the mayor and this governing body and making sure that — whether it’s another week or two more months — they say: “We made a good decision, we put the right person there. ‘”