After a year without a permanent city manager, Anaheim has filled the post, hiring former San Leandro city manager Chris Zapata.
Zapata, 58, chose to end his six-year tenure in the Northern California city earlier this month, a few weeks after that City Council reinstated him following an independent investigation that said allegations made of sexual misconduct could not be sustained.
The Anaheim City Council unanimously voted Tuesday, July 17, to give Zapata a five-year contract with an annual salary of $291,000 plus health, retirement and other benefits.
Mayor Tom Tait said the council took “very, very seriously” the circumstances of Zapata’s departure from San Leandro, but officials were convinced by the investigator’s report, which found no evidence of wrongdoing. Tait added he’s not aware of any other allegations about Zapata’s behavior.
“If there was anything other than that, we wouldn’t have hired him,” Tait said.
The allegations were not found to be credible, Tait said, and in interviews with Zapata, “We sensed a high degree of character and integrity, and people who worked with him seemed to be very impressed.”
Reached Wednesday, Zapata denied any misconduct and said he provided hours of testimony and more than 1,000 documents to the investigation, during which he was on paid leave.
“I’m glad to put that behind me,” Zapata said.
Anaheim has been led by Interim City Manager Linda Andal – who was previously the city clerk – since July 2017, when the council asked Paul Emery to resign after about two years on the job.
Zapata has 36 years of experience in the public sector and has also held top posts in California’s National City and Arizona’s Eloy and Superior. He oversaw development projects including a 216-bed Kaiser hospital in San Leandro and venues for NFL and NHL teams in Arizona.
The issue that arose in San Leandro focused on Zapata’s dealings with the CEO of a nonprofit family resource center, which had received a $1.5 million loan from the city. The nonprofit got behind on the repayment and requested more time.
According to the report from Kramer Workplace Investigations, the CEO made a complaint to the city last year alleging Zapata had made defamatory comments about her to others and sexually harassed her by making inappropriate comments and offers in exchange for a sexual relationship.
After interviewing nine witnesses and reviewing text messages and other evidence, the investigator concluded in the report the claims were not substantiated.
Zapata said he applied for the Anaheim job while the investigation was going on. After he returned to the San Leandro City Hall, he said some relations remained strained and he decided it would be best for everyone for him to move on. Now that he has found a new job, he said he will be donating the money from his negotiated severance package to a homeless charity in the Bay Area.
Zapata will move to Anaheim and start work Aug. 6.
Tait said he’d like the new city manager to connect with the city’s neighborhoods, and Zapata also named that as a priority.
“I need to immerse myself in Anaheim and understand many of the community needs and issues,” Zapata said.
“What I believe I want to bring to Anaheim is stability.”
Along with the recent hiring of a city attorney and police chief, Zapata’s appointment completes the city’s months-long attempt to fill top-tier jobs at City Hall.
