The council went through the city's entire agenda at its March 2 meeting before getting to the matter. Then Mayor John Howe chose Vice Mayor Dean Chu to chair an ad-hoc committee to begin the search.

Howe chose the other two committee members from a pool of Otto Lee, Ron Swegles and Melinda Hamilton, the recently elected council members who could be working with the new city manager for the next eight years. The three handed him their business cards and then Howe had Deputy City Manager Charles Schwabe choose from among the upside down cards. Swegles and Hamilton were picked.

Chu dismisses the idea that was presented several weeks ago that the rumors surrounding former City Manager Robert LaSala's exit from the city could discourage top candidates from applying.

After the council abruptly put LaSala on leave in December, neither the council nor LaSala would discuss what was happening publicly. Some in the city speculated that he was being fired, others that his leaving was the result of efforts by the Public Safety Officers Association to get certain candidates for city council elected in order to get rid of him. And the final legal agreement between LaSala and the city binds them both to secrecy.

Chu said that any candidates who are truly interested in the position will take time to investigate for themselves and form their own opinions.

Within a month, Howe wants the committee to report back to the full city council on a plan of action, so Sunnyvale can begin the process of finding a full-time city manager. Amy Chan, who was promoted to interim city manager at the same meeting, said she will serve as manager until a full-time person is found and a transition is complete.

"We're really fortunate in having her," Hamilton said. "As long as she's in place, we can have a transition."

At press time, the committee had yet to meet, but the committee members had already begun thinking of the qualities they would be looking for in Sunnyvale's next city manager.

At the National League of Cities' Annual Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C., the three will attend a seminar to learn techniques for evaluating city manager candidates.

The biggest concern shared by the members focuses on the budget issues looming before Sunnyvale and California as a whole. Both Hamilton and Chu said that a candidate would need to be well versed not only in financial matters in general, but in the specific needs of California.

"We're looking for someone familiar with the California budgeting process, but that doesn't preclude a national search," Chu said. "I would assume that a candidate at this level would have a background in budgeting processes."

Hamilton said that in addition to that, strong interpersonal skills and knowledge of the needs of a high-tech business community like Sunnyvale's are a must.

Also, Hamilton said, face-to-face meetings with candidates are important, because many qualities she's looking for in a candidate aren't the kind that can be quantitatively discussed in a résumé.

There is no projected date for the completion of a search, but Chu said it could take anywhere between six and nine months to find a new city manager.

"We want to take as much time as it takes to get a good candidate. We're not in a rush because we have Amy, who knows the city, knows the budget and knows how to manage," Chu said.