Saratoga News

Saratoga will be sadder without Harry

By Ann Marie Burger

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people in Saratoga who are mourning the loss of Harry Peacock as our city manager. Most will not make their feelings public. I would like to speak for all of us who have witnessed the positive results of his 12 years in this community.

Harry is committed to excellence in his profession. His has been a continuing quest for personal improvement and achievement. While serving Saratoga, he embarked upon a difficult Ph.D. program, working long, hard hours to add to his knowledge--knowledge that would ultimately benefit the community he served. He is held in high regard by city managers, board members and council members throughout the county and beyond. His attendance at local, state and national professional seminars is exemplary, and he was even chosen to spread his knowledge to counterparts in Australia in an international city manager exchange program.

He built a dedicated, professional and competent staff, people who serve in every capacity at city hall. I have known many of them on more than a nodding basis, and I never heard anything other than high accolades for the quality of the man who was their boss. He is universally viewed as fair, straightforward and honest in his dealings with each employee.

And, despite what one may read in the press recently, Harry has a gift for working with council members, people who over the years have held widely differing views about what is best for Saratoga. It is a strange position, that of city manager. One is governed by a five-headed boss who doesn't agree with itself. Not only that, its personality changes every two years. During my year as mayor, he was of great assistance to me, showing expertise in a wide range of topics, an excellent grasp of the issues and a careful analysis of the results of each proposed policy decision. It is a tribute to his abilities and skill that he served this often-contentious community for 12 yeas. It takes a great deal of people-savvy to be successful in such a charged atmosphere. Like him or not, there isn't a council member past or present who can downplay that singular ability.

There are other aspects of Harry's dedication to Saratoga that I am afraid many people aren't even aware of. He coached girls' soccer for most of his time in Saratoga, staying on to guide many young women even after his own daughter graduated and left for college. A parent told me recently that he has a special understanding of these girls, at a time when things are difficult for even the best-adjusted teen. Her daughter is distraught that Harry is leaving Saratoga.

For many years, Harry has been an active and vital part of the Saratoga Rotary Club. He has served as Rotary's operations manager for the annual art show held at West Valley College in May. This art show is a huge undertaking, but Harry was always the first one on the job and the last one to leave, never afraid to take on any and all tasks. He served as Rotary's community service chair more than once, directly responsible for organizing such events as the painting of the Warner Hutton House and the annual Breakfast with Santa for underprivileged children. He exemplifies Rotary's ideal of "service above self."

Saratoga will be a poorer, sadder community without Harry Peacock's presence. We lose a great deal in his leaving. Malibu gains. We'll miss you, Harry. It's a step down for us. Godspeed. Ann Marie Burger is a former Saratoga mayor and city council member.