Features

City Manager Weldon Rucker’s presence in Berkeley’s government has been so consistent, reassuring and unflappable that when he announced his retirement as of Nov. 1, some city employees broke into tears and many reacted as if the foundation had been suddenly yanked from beneath Civic Center. 

City Council honored Rucker’s 31 years of civic service with a proclamation and numerous laudatory testimonials last Tuesday. Mayor Tom Bates, each of the councilmembers and the president of the League of Woman Voters praised the departing executive both personally and professionally. Words like “honesty,” “integrity,” “fair,” “responsive,” “reasonable,” “phenomenal,” “caring,” “foresight” and “wise” flowed from the council dais.  

The responsibility and demanding hours of the city manager’s job are daunting, but nearly everyone who follows local politics agrees that Rucker—who worked his way up through the ranks to the city’s top job—carried out his leadership duties with professionalism and an unflagging commitment to the citizens of Berkeley. 

Rucker, 62, who had a heart attack in 1994 and suffers from diabetes, said he is stepping away from the high-pressure job to focus on his health and spend quality time with Jeanie, his wife of 41 years, their two adult daughters and two granddaughters. Rucker will be replaced by Deputy City Manager Phil Kamlarz. 

“This job can take a toll on your health and family life,” Rucker said. “It can be a bit lonely for my wife when I just come home to sleep and change my clothes.” 

While the mayor and City Council often have a higher public profile, it’s the city manager who is immediately responsible for overseeing the innumerable details and tasks that keep the city functioning. Council may be praised when it approves a new budget, for example, but it relies almost entirely on the city manager’s funding recommendations because he is the one who is responsible for crunching the numbers.  

The city manager oversees nearly all of the city’s daily functions including emergency and health services, public works, economic development and housing to name just a few. From fixing potholes to catching stray cats to preparing for the city for possibility of large scale disasters, the daily buck stops at the city manager’s desk.  

Mayor Tom Bates commended Rucker for his commitment to making city government citizen-friendly and for his good judgment and level-headedness amidst the city’s well known political histrionics. 

“People get so excited about things and Weldon is always the one who pauses. You can see his mind working and then he comes up with something that makes perfect sense,” he said. “We were so blessed to have him.” 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said Rucker’s retirement was “the saddest piece of news I had heard since I was first elected to the Council.” 

Councilmember Linda Maio said “We’re like a family on the fifth floor (of Civic Center) and you’re the dad.” 

Rucker is a large man, tall and broad-shouldered, packing a bit of extra weight around his middle of the sort that the Italians might say adds to his authority. He moves and talks slowly, as if he’s calculated how to regulate his energy to ensure he can function through the tough work days that frequently go long into the night. His easy manner and ready humor instantly put people at ease (Councilmember Miriam Hawley requested that he stop by Civic Center occasionally after he retires just so she could hear his “rumbling” and “somehow reassuring” laugh). 

Popularity aside, several city employees said Rucker believes in hard work above all else and that he can, at times, be a harsh taskmaster behind closed doors. “The motto around the Civic Center is ‘work, work, work,’” said one mid-level administrator, “and there’s not a lot of tolerance for anything less.” 

Leaning back in a chair in his corner office that overlooks Berkeley High School and Civic Center Park, Rucker took some time from his busy schedule to talk about his 31 years with the city, his priorities for managing city government and the uniqueness of Berkeley.  

He quickly dismissed any notion that he was personally responsible for having much impact on city government. 

“Just thinking about it, what have I really done that I accomplished by myself?” he said. “It’s always been in coordination with other people.” 

But those in the know in city government say Rucker has been the driving force behind such valuable city programs and services as the Adult Health Project and the Safe Telegraph Avenue Project. He’s also credited with establishing the Office of Neighborhood Services—which greatly increased the city’s response to complex neighborhood problems by coordinating multiple city services—and the City Center, which helps citizens and businesses quickly navigate city departments.  

A graduate of Saint Mary’s College with a degree in business management, Rucker began working for the city in 1972. He spent seven years in youth services, first as a recreation coordinator, then working with young adults and finally as a youth employment supervisor.  

He says working with the city’s youth first inspired him by revealing the potential to make a difference. Though a city employee, he was often put in the position of advocating for at-risk kids with city officials, giving him valuable insights into working from within the system. 

“I was in, but I was also out,” he said. “It taught me how to work with a bureaucracy.” 

It also gave Rucker another advantage, according to Frank Davis Jr., president of the Black Property Owners Association. Through his work with youth, he had gained the trust and goodwill of the African American community in South Berkeley. 

“There had been four other African American city managers before Weldon, but no one who had lived in South Berkeley, worked here and knew all of the kids by name,” Davis said. “It was a big plus because he had a special connection with south Berkeley residents and they felt they could go to him for advice and he was always, always available. I don’t know if the city will ever be able to replace him.” 

Rucker said availability and responsiveness to the populace have been the basis for his management style. “We have active, intelligent and knowledgeable citizens who know the rules and regulations,” he said. “It’s important that we work to engage and partner with the community. Increasing communication and understanding reduces rancor around certain issues.” 

Then there is the public’s vigorous participation in a city which has more citizen commissions per capita that any other municipal government in the country—at last count, some 42 commissions, boards and task forces. Rucker said the proliferation of citizen commissioners made his job “interesting.” 

“It’s a double-edged sword. On one hand, it stretches resources and staff time to have so many commissions and sometimes the commissions work at cross purposes,” he said. “But on the other hand if we didn’t harness the great minds in Berkeley and allow the free flow of ideas and idealism, we wouldn’t be who we are.” 

He pointed to Berkeley’s long list of innovations and firsts, such as being the first city to divest from businesses connected to South Africa’s apartheid government, the first to offer a municipal recycling program and the first to ban Styrofoam. 

Rucker said he is leaving office with a few regrets. He is sorry that the large vacant lot on the corner of Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street was never turned into a mixed-use building. He wishes the city had been successful in its attempts to replace a portion of Derby Street near the campus with a city baseball field, and he regrets that the city was unable to solve its homeless problem.  

“Despite our best attempts, we were only able to contain homelessness to a certain degree,” he said. “We were never able to come up with a solution.” 

Rucker has no plans for the immediate future. “A lot of people have come up to me and said they have the perfect job or project but I’m not too interested right now,” he said in his usual slow drawl. “But I’m not leaving Berkeley and I’m sure I’ll be getting involved in something before too long.” 

A public farewell reception will be held for Weldon Rucker on the sixth floor of the Civic Center Building from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. today (Tuesday Oct. 28.)