Longtime Civil Servant Louis DePasquale Named Next Cambridge City Manager

CAMBRIDGE, MA — The City of Cambridge unanimously voted to extend an offer to longtime city employee Louis DePasquale to serve as its next City Manager Thursday night.

"He seems like one of Cambridge's kids, someone who seems excited by the job, and energetic to serve," said Councilor Nadeem Mazen, explaining his support for DePasquale.

His selection comes the day after a high-profile candidate, Massachusetts Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash, dropped out of the running.

Ash withdrew his name Wednesday, saying he no longer believed the position was "the right fit."

That left DePasquale and Asheville, North Carolina, Assistant City Manager Paul Fetherston, in contention to replace longtime manager Richard Ross. The position pays around $300,000 a year.

DePasquale is currently the City’s Assistant City Manager for Fiscal Affairs, and previously served as City Budget Director, as well as other jobs in the City’s Budget and Treasury Departments. He's a Boston State College graduate, with his Masters in Public Administration from Northeastern University.

Even as DePasquale got the job offer, Ash's absence loomed large in the council chambers.

Mazen, in recommending DePasquale, noted the city's choices "have been narrowed some," but added he may well have gone with DePasquale anyway, given his tenure in government, city experience, "open door" and "gracious spirit."

Likewise, Councilor Dennis Carlone said the many emails he received "favored a person who has withdrawn two-to-one."

Councilor Jan Devereux indicated her dissatisfaction with the abruptly limited selection. Until yesterday, Devereux said, she had planned to vote for a "different candidate," in hopes of a fresh perspective for the city, and for someone "who would help us summon the courage to be bolder than we've been."

"I still believe, at the end of the day, that change would be healthy for us," Devereux said, but the selection process has "failed, essentially, to yield us a candidate from the outside who we can trust" to address the big issues Cambridge confronts. It was a sentiment echoed by Mazen, who said he believed the city should have negotiated more strongly on salary and issues from the start, and should have "head-hunted" more aggressively, and outside Cambridge, in the interest of gender parity and diversity.

Nonetheless, Devereux said, and Mazen echoed, DePasquale is respected and competent.

"He's someone...whose commitment to Cambridge is unquestioned, whose integrity is rock-solid," Devereux said. "I have given it a lot of thought, and I will support Louis with my colleagues."

DePasquale's local ties also make him well-suited to understand and address pressing city issues, several councilors said.

"Louis gets this," said Councilor David Maher, particularly on issues like affordable housing and income inequality.

Councilor Timothy Toomey lauded DePasquale's "tremendous vision for the city," and ability to engage with citizens not normally involved in city government.

"He's out in the community on a daily basis, and he's listening, and he's learning from people," Toomey said.

Effective Oct. 1, councilors voted to appoint Deputy City Manager Lisa Peterson, to serve as Acting City Manager until the job becomes official. DePasquale's appointment is contingent on negotiations with the city.

>> City hall photo by Daderot via Wikimedia Commons