Jones introduces Marshall as his pick for Richmond administrator
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Richmond's new administrator
Mayor Dwight Jones introduces Byron C. Marshall as the city's chief administrative officer.
Byron C. Marshall |
Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones last night introduced Byron C. Marshall as his choice for chief administrative officer but held off asking the City Council to immediately confirm the appointment.
The council will consider the matter in a July 1 special meeting.
Marshall is president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Austin Revitalization Authority in Texas.
He also has executive-management experience in cities including Austin, Houston, Washington and Atlanta, where he helped prepare the city for the 1996 Olympics. In remarks last night to the council, Marshall detailed his career path and reasons for his moves, and he talked about neighborhoods. He said he was proud of the way Atlanta used the Olympics to lift neighborhoods, with public art, infrastructure improvements and planning initiatives.
"There are some things that I've learned from that experience that I'd like to be able to employ here," he said.
Marshall also addressed publicly for the first time questions about his experience that have been raised by news reports in other cities. Articles have focused on his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, as well as consulting work that he did in Austin while he was employed as chief operating officer of Atlanta.
Speaking calmly, Marshall blamed a 20-year delay in the awarding of his undergraduate degree from Syracuse on a mix-up over getting graduate-level courses he took applied toward his undergraduate degree.
"Was the paperwork sloppy? Yes," he said. "Did I trying to fool anybody? No. More than enough hours were done to complete the work."
Marshall said the consulting work that he did while employed in Atlanta had been agreed to by the mayor and was overly politicized.
"Everybody knew what I was doing," he said. "It was reported in the papers. It was raised in council meetings. It only became an issue when it was time for re-election."
Marshall's potential appointment in Richmond comes as the city of Austin is conducting a performance audit that relates to its work with Marshall's nonprofit group. Marshall described the audit as a routine review requested as city officials try to decide whether to continue the relationship. The results are expected in October, he said.
Councilman E. Martin Jewell last night blasted the news media's reporting on Marshall, who previously declined to comment.
"I am astounded at how media has ravaged the image of this gentleman . . . in such a way that has called into question his credentials, his experience and all else," Jewell said.
In an afternoon news conference, Jones cited Marshall's experience managing larger cities that have accomplished initiatives that Richmond is now pursuing, as well as his commitment to neighborhoods, not just downtown areas.
Marshall said he sees great potential in Richmond but also a need to repair streets, cut grass and improve building facades.
"I like the energy that I feel, not just with the mayor but with the council," he said.
Marshall said Richmond has a history of a well-run government and said he knows Robert Bobb and Manuel Deese, two former city managers of Richmond. Marshall said he hasn't had connections to Richmond except that his father graduated from Virginia Union University.
If approved, Marshall will start full-time work by Aug. 1 and receive an annual salary of $175,000.
Councilman Bruce W. Tyler had suggested delaying a confirmation vote until Austin's audit was complete, but he conceded, "The city can't go without a CAO for another three months," he said.
The appointment would normally be sent to committee, but Council President Kathy C. Graziano said doing that would not allow the council to vote until July 13. The July 1 meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at City Hall and include a public hearing.
"That's the start of the fiscal year," she said. "We'd like to hit the ground running."
Officials said the city received dozens of applications for CAO. About a dozen candidates were interviewed by city staff and six were interviewed by the mayor.
Acting Chief Administrative Officer Christopher L. Beschler attended last night's meeting, but his status with the city was not explained.
Beschler will be "well-positioned" within the city administration, said Tammy D. Hawley, press secretary to Jones. The city is currently advertising for director of public utilities and deputy chief administrative officer for operations -- positions previously held by Beschler.
Also yesterday, Jones announced the appointment of Marcus D. Jones as deputy chief administrative officer for finance and administration, one of four deputy CAOs envisioned by the mayor's administration.
Marcus Jones has been an assistant city manager for Norfolk since 2007. Before that, he was Norfolk's director of budget and management. He also served as deputy secretary of finance under Gov. Mark R. Warner and assistant secretary of finance under Gov. Jim Gilmore.
Marcus Jones will start work Aug. 24 in a position formerly called chief financial officer. His salary will be $160,000 per year.
He'll oversee annual revenue collections of more than $1.4 billion, as well as the departments and offices of finance, budget and strategic planning, procurement, information technology and risk management.
Contact Will Jones at (804) 649-6911 or
.
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Reader Reactions
Geez…does it take a felony indictment or jail to get them to take a GOOD, HARD LOOK AT THIS GUY?? Race should be PUT ASIDE ALREADY!! It looks like “whites need not apply.“ Wake up City Council. I think I smell coffee. Can Jones just railroad another guy in? Be fair, YES, be fair and look at some of the other candidates who don’t have bad baggage.
Why call council, etc.? Why not just recall Mayor Jones? There’s something amiss in City Hall!
According to an article in an Austin newspaper, Marshall also is regarded as being extremely racially divisive - clearly we need neither his divisiveness nor his controversial background.
A competent, knowledgeable Acting CAO is already in place, and there is no indication that he is either controversial or divisive - Richmond residents should contact the Mayor and Council and insist that Chris Blescher, the currently acting CAO, be promoted to the position, permanently.
just a couple more things…the more you read about this guy, the WORSE a choice he is…come one Mayor Jones…do SOMETHING right
Marshall worked as chief operating officer of Atlanta from 1994 to 1997 and helped prepare the city to host the Summer Olympics in 1996, according to his biography.
He resigned after it was revealed that he held a $96,000 consulting contract with an economic-development authority in Austin, according to a 1997 article by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
The article also said Marshall had not earned a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University as he had claimed when he applied for the Atlanta job. Marshall told the newspaper that he had transferred two graduate courses to satisfy his undergraduate requirements.
Syracuse’s registrar’s office confirmed today that a bachelor’s degree in history was awarded to Byron C. Marshall in 1997, but details were unavailable.
Marshall’s biography says only that he attended undergraduate and graduate school at Syracuse’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Richmond had been advertising for a chief administrative officer since before Jones took office in January. The position offers a salary range of $124,500 to $210,091.
In its initial ad, the city required a master’s in public or business administration, planning or a related field, plus at least 10 years of urban municipal experience as an executive.
in Austin!
Posted by ( CommonSense ) on June 23, 2009 at 8:30 am
Yawn - where should we put the baseball stadium?
more “lovely” commments about jones boy marshall..none are flattering…
Home > City Beat > Archives > 2009 > June > 03 > Entry
Revitalization Authority leader eyeing Virginia job
By Sarah Coppola | Wednesday, June 3, 2009, 11:17 AM
The head of the Austin Revitalization Authority is a top contender for a job in Virginia, according to this story in today’s Richmond Times Dispatch.
Byron Marshall is vying to be Richmond’s chief administrative officer, a post similar to city manager.
The revitalization authority is a nonprofit group the City of Austin formed more than a decade ago to help redevelop East 11th and 12th Streets, corridors dogged by crime and blight.
The authority and Marshall himself have come under fire in the past few years because of the slow pace of the redevelopment, an audit that raised questions about whether the authority is financially stable and complaints from small businesses about the authority charging them big amounts of back rent.
The Austin city auditor’s office is currently doing a full-scale audit of the authority; the results are due back in July.
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By Sam
June 3, 2009 12:34 PM | Link to this
I find this humorous. Toby dropped tons of city money on her ex boss for years and now the auditors are looking at him. Were they sleeping for the past several years? Start by checking out all his company names.
I suggest Virgina talk to Atlanta about how he worked out for them. Atlanta was none to happy. How easily we forget.
By Sam
June 3, 2009 12:35 PM | Link to this
I find this humorous. Toby dropped tons of city money on her ex boss for years and now the auditors are looking at him. Were they sleeping for the past several years? Start by checking out all his company names.
I suggest Virgina talk to Atlanta about how he worked out for them. Atlanta was none to happy. How easily we forget.
By Don
June 3, 2009 12:40 PM | Link to this
Good riddance. He has ripped the city of Austin off all these years and did not do a thing to revitalization. I guess he realized the gig was up and people down at city hall were about to demand accountability. Why have at teh AAS kept up the heat on the story of the Austin Housing Authority as much as you guys have tried to get Keller the judge?
By Joan
June 3, 2009 12:51 PM | Link to this
O Please please please Richmond. Take him. Take him a……..w……a….y. Far from Austin the better. Once he is gone we will find the real story of his rip off and his protection by certain interests down at city hall. If the Austin American had been doing its job he would be gone sooner.
By Jeff T
June 3, 2009 1:16 PM | Link to this
Good riddance to this thief and con artist. He’ll find much to rip off in Richmond.
By FedUp
June 3, 2009 1:19 PM | Link to this
With no real oversight at the City level and no real investigative journalism to be found in Austin, what can we expect? Bring in the next moron to continue wasting our money, we don’t care!
By John403
June 3, 2009 10:52 PM | Link to this
Very nice site!
By Hey Richmond—google
June 4, 2009 2:24 PM | Link to this
I’m beginning to think cities get what they deserve when they do not check out references. Use “the Google.” Put in Marcia Connor and Byron Marshall. 2 seconds. Done.
By Silver Persinger
June 4, 2009 9:09 PM | Link to this
Hey Austin,
Richmond here. Thanks for your comments. Any hard information would be greatly appreciated. Anonymous tips welcomed,
Your Richmond blogger, http://www.richmond-telegraph.blogspot.com
Silver Persinger
By Teflon Don
June 12, 2009 3:06 PM | Link to this
Byron has left every job he has ever had under a very dark cloud. Why? Because he is one slick dude. Richmond is not exactly the epicenter of Virginia ethics so you all should hire Byron because whatever shaky deals he gets into, he is an honorable man who believes in sharing the wealth. So the corrupt politicians in Richmond should really hire him because Byron will deliver the bacon boys
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/cityhall/entries/2009/06/03/ara_leader_eyeing_virginia_job.html
I think it is a scary idea to bring this guy into Richmond! You just have to “know” that Jones and Marshall have some kind of “history” -
Why can’t we wait until after the audit is finished and released this summer? Save another couple months of wages/benefits and ensure that this guy doesn’t have something going on in Austin that he is trying to get out of.
I know most of the intelligent folks out there know what a mess RRHA is..any housing authority/revitalization authority..by its very nature is basically a corrupt entity..don’t mean to be such a cynic, but I audited many, many Housing Authorities and Revitalization Authorities- NIGHTMARE - every single one of them full of corruption and cronyism…wasting taxpayers funds for the benefit of the employees and city “power brokers”
“Marshall is the CEO and president of the Austin Revitalization Authority. We learned today his agency is being audited by the Austin City Auditor. A 2006 internal audit of the agency cited numerous concerns. I looked over a power point presentation which found the agency to be highly leveraged and to have cash flow problems. The report also cited a lack of an accurate, multi-year financial plan to meet debt obligations. The new audit report is due in August.“
Yawn - where should we put the baseball stadium?
Race rather than qualification seems to drive appointments by City Council and the administration. The last seven City Managers and the last five Police Chiefs were black. More qualified white candidates, such as the recent acting police chief, are pushed aside. Serious questions of experience, behavior, performance and even the validity of putative educational credentials are simply overlooked. Manny Deese and Robert Bobb, names faded into the past, were Richmond’s last major league managers and their abilities and commitment to the City were evident from day one. The line of recent appointees bolt or are booted from Richmond to their next locale when the tide of failure or ineptitude rises behind them. As one peccadillo after another becomes public and the characters come and go, the City’s reputation, fiancés and future slide away.
In an attempt to rush the confirmation of Byron Marshall about whom there are still a number of unanswered questions, council members Tyler and Graziano rely on spurious arguments.
The City is not without a CAO as Mr. Tyler suggests. Christopher Beschler who is very well qualified, whose background is not “cloudy” as is Mr. Marshall’s, and who is well acquainted with the City’s personnel, problems, needs, systems, and procedures, has been performing the job in an
“acting” capacity for some time. The Mayor has yet to explain why he felt it necessary to overlook a dedicated employee in favor of an “outsider” whose background has been called into serious question.
Similarly, Ms. Graziano’s attempt to explain away the rush to vote on July 1 rather than refer the confirmation to committee as is the standard practice, is without merit. Mr. Beschler, as acting CAO, is already “on the ground running - well” and has been for some time.
The process resulting in Marshall’s appointment as CAO is seriously flawed, has too many “red flags” associated with it, the Mayor and Council are rushing to confirm Marshall, and, as if most often the case, the hastily made decision is most probably going to be proven to have been the wrong one in the future. Marhall’s appointment should NOT be confirmed. Rather Council should insist that Mr. Beschler be appointed as permanent CAO. By so doing, the best interests of the City will be served and the decision will have been made on the basis of demonstrably prudent business practices rather than politics.
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