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Letter to the editor: Sad to see city manager leave

I have lived in South Lake Tahoe for more than 40 years, and I have seen a lot of City Councils come and go, as well as city managers. No one enters these positions to do purposeful harm, but most don’t understand leadership and what it takes to get hard issues from being blocked by one side or another. We’ve gotten to the point at every level of government, where each side is like an armed camp, that won’t budge. It takes someone special to change that thinking to actually get people together to get projects moving forward; each side has to give a little.

Our city manager, Tony O’Rourke, has the leadership skills we have needed for a very long time, and I wish he wouldn’t leave us.

I am one who pays attention to what the “powers that be” do and say, and Tony O’Rourke is the best city manager we’ve had in a very long time. He has a common-sense way of dealing with difficult issues and trying to find that common ground with people who don’t agree with each other, and would otherwise be locked, going nowhere. He does it in a way that is kind but firm, and I am deeply disappointed he is leaving our community. We really need him; he’s cut some expenses and even found some ways to bring in revenue.



Everyone says we need common-sense thinking but, honestly, not many really have it. I truly believe that O’Rourke has it. He’s not afraid to change a position when he learns more information about a subject. He’s approachable by the average citizen, and I find most government officials feel that we, the people, are a bother to listen to.

My feelings are echoed by many others.



Jan McCarthy

South Lake Tahoe


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