Former San Bernardino City Manager Allen Parker has been named interim city manager of Hemet. His appointment was approved by the city council last week for a period of six months. After a three-month evaluation, the council will decide whether to hire him on a permanent basis.
Parker is taking over for Alex Meyerhoff who resigned last month. Hemet Police Chief Scott Brown had been filling in for the time being.
“I am very pleased to be here,” Parker told the council. “I see Hemet has an excellent future ahead. I come with open eyes. I look to work together with team and staff on these strategic plans I am looking forward to it, and I fully intend to give it my all.”
The creation of a five-year strategic plan would be among his top priorities, Parker said.
Some residents criticized the appointment during the public comment period, calling it hasty and ill-advised. After reviewing his qualifications and references, however, the council had little doubt that he was the one for the job.
“I think Mr. Parker is exactly what this city needs at this time,” said Mayor Linda Krupa. “I think his leadership skills, his consensus building, his strength are exactly what this city needs. We need to go forward. We need to forget about the past at this point, although keep it in mind, we have a lot of things haunting us from our past that we need to deal with, but we need to deal with all of this in a straightforward upright manner.”
Parker has three decades of experience under his belt. Prior to his hiring in San Bernardino, he had worked for the cities of Oak Park, Ill and Kansas City, MO, as well as Compton, Garden Grove, and Seal Beach.
Read more about Hemet’s new interim city manager here.