Photograph by Robert Scheer
Gay Strand will mind city affairs.
By Clarence Cromwell
When Gay Strand becomes Monte Sereno's city manager, she'll bring a broad range of experience with her, councilmembers said.
That's one quality they looked for, because in Monte Sereno the manager must oversee every aspect of city business, unassisted by the department heads that managers of big cities supervise.
Strand will report to work Aug. 5 to replace Carolyn Lehr, who resigned after her husband accepted a job in Princeton, N. J.
Strand, a 23-year veteran of local government, is currently assistant city manager for Santa Cruz. She beat 29 other applicants from across the United States. "Without any problem, she looked better to all of us," Mayor Nancy Hobbs said.
Strand has experience working for a large city--Santa Cruz--and for a smaller city--Seaside, population 31,000. Her career has ranged broadly across city departments, including planning, building, budget-making and managing projects that span several departments.
Hobbs said she was additionally impressed with Strand's interview by councilmembers. Strand was articulate and revealed her knowledge of local government, the mayor said.
Strand earned a Masters of Public Administration degree from Harvard University in 1985.
Strand said she was attracted by Monte Sereno's polished image. She drove around the city one Saturday after hearing about the job opening and liked what she saw.
"For a small city, it appears to me to be very professionally run and very efficiently run," Strand said.
The city is still working out the details of Strand's contract, including her salary.
Lehr announced her resignation April 16. A going-away party for Lehr is planned 4:30 to 6 p.m. Aug. 6 at City Hall.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, July 10, 1996.
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