By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | June 22, 2008
Fairfield City Manager Sean Quinn says the Pledge of prior to a recent city council meeting. Today marks the end of Quinn's first six months on the job.
FAIRFIELD - It was 2007 and Fairfield was looking for a leader.
Longtime City Manager Kevin O'Rourke was retiring and there appeared to be two potential replacements, both looking for their first shot at being the top banana. The job went to Sean Quinn, then the director of the Department of Community Development.
Quinn started six months ago today. Now, Assistant City Manager Nancy Huston will soon get her opportunity. She starts June 30 as city manager of Dixon.
The past six months have been a whirlwind but generally in line with his expectations for the job, Quinn said. Much of his time has been consumed by dealing with a city budget deficit.
'I knew going in that there were budget issues to deal with and we would have to deal with that quickly,' he said. 'That part hasn't been a surprise.'
The council was laudatory of Quinn in 2007 when members were advocating for his hire. He called the council 'results driven' and said the members have a strong working relationship.
'(The quality of) my relationship with them, I don't think has changed much,' Quinn said. 'It is, of course, different when you are a department head they are encouraging to apply for a job than when you have the job and they are your boss.'
Huston also applied for the job in 2007, although Quinn was the stated choice of the council. After City Councilmen Chuck Timm and Matt Garcia were sworn in, the council canceled the application process and hired Quinn.
See the complete story at the Daily Repbulic Online.
