I have served city managers in California as a senior advisor for over 20 years. For nearly all those years, I have worked with the ICMA staff and the program coordinator of the League of California Cities as a volunteer to coordinate the program. I have done so because of the importance of the senior advisors who have had an impact on me throughout my career.

My career in local government began in 1968 when I had the pleasure of an interview with Charles Henry, city manager of University City, Missouri, who would go on to become a senior advisor. University City was one of the first cities in the nation to accept the responsibility to racially integrate in a positive fashion. I had just returned to the St. Louis area from New Haven, Connecticut, after four years of study at Yale University graduate school. While I was working on my degree, I lived in the Dixwell neighborhood, the historically African American urban center in New Haven. I became active with the organizations that were vital to finding a way to improve life for the residents of the neighborhood.

University City was an inner belt suburban city which itself was undergoing rapid racial integration. It was introducing new laws and operational programs and ordinances intended to create a welcoming community. It sought to overcome the impacts of redlining on housing financing, exclusion of minorities in rental housing, and frequent community unrest. I was hired to address these challenges, and the goal was to create a successful interracial community.

After a few years, and with Charles Henry’s support and encouragement, I accepted the position of executive assistant to the mayor of St. Louis. From there, I moved to the position of city manager of Portland, Maine; then city manager of Santa Ana, California; and finally, city manager of Kansas City, Missouri.

While serving as city manager of Santa Ana, I had the pleasure of working with Joe Baker, the manager of a neighboring city in Orange County. Joe retired before I left Santa Ana and became a range rider, which was the original name for what today we call senior advisors.

Looking back, I probably should have avoided the unfortunate determination that the Kansas City political structure was not ready for the changes I sought to implement. But after I decided to resign my position in Kansas City, who was almost the first to contact me but range rider Joe Baker. Not much later, I also got a call from range rider Charles Henry. We were fortunate to have overwhelming support from the residents of Kansas City, so we decided to remain living there for the next two years.

When my family expressed interest in returning to California, I called Joe Baker, and he agreed to assist me. He even arranged for us to temporarily reside in a nearby vacation condominium that he and his wife owned while we searched for a new home.

After returning to California, I was offered the position of city manager in Pomona, California, and began a very positive period of management for 15 months. Then came an election and one of the supportive councilmembers was defeated and a new councilmember elected.

A month later, the council scheduled a confidential evaluation of me, and I expected it to be a positive experience. When we went into the closed session, there were some positive reflections on my work. But then a surprise! A very difficult councilmember opened a file folder and handed me a letter. It was a letter of termination addressed to the chief of police awaiting my signature. I was told I could remain as manager if I executed the letter. If not, I would be terminated myself. As you might expect, the next morning a press release was circulated that I had been terminated as city manager by a 3–2 vote of the council.

That evening, I met with my family to make sure my wife and children understood what had occurred. As we talked, the phone rang. And guess who it was: range rider Joe Baker. Once again, he offered his support. We made arrangements to meet for lunch the next day.

While I was able to return to the role in public management training I had established after leaving Kansas City, I still wanted to remain a city manager. I became the interim city manager for the city of Norco, California, and then was offered the position of executive director of the Western Riverside Council of Governments. While I was professionally established once again, I never forgot the support of Joe Baker. I decided that when I retired, I would explore opportunities to give back to my community of managers through the Range Rider/Senior Advisor Program.

Ironically, as I was ready to retire, Joe Baker called me again to say he was going to vacate the range rider position and wondered if I would consider being his replacement in California. Within weeks, I accepted the challenge, and I have served as a range rider/senior advisor for over 20 years. I have had the pleasure of being a source of support for managers and have continually worked with my colleagues to elevate the quality of resources that are available for managers before and after they face a crisis in their career.

There are some important lessons I learned in this professional journey that I would like to share with you.

1. If you are starting your career, find an experienced city/county manager who would be willing to coach you in the beginning. Ask your senior advisor to help you find someone if you don’t already have someone in mind.

2. If you have issues arise in your position that you did not expect, use your senior advisor as a sounding board to determine your next steps. I refused to sign the letter of dismissal of the chief of police and resigned. Later, after talking it over with Joe Baker, it became clear that I could and should have simply left the executive session and given the proposed letter of termination to the press. He suggested that the two councilmembers who joined in to support the termination might have changed their minds before causing my resignation.

3. Always remember to consider how your family supports you and include them, not only in your good days, but also in the difficult days. Our first instinct may be to shield our family from our professional difficulties, but sharing with them may also open a path to stronger connections with our partners and children. Your senior advisor can assist you as needed, including sitting down with you and your family.

4. Today, there are occasions when there are actual threats to the manager and sometimes even their families. If you need assistance, call your senior advisor! They will work with you to define your response and plan a way forward.

5. In the future, you may consider a management position in a city that you don’t know much about. Search firms will offer information, but always remember that they are the agents of the city offering employment. A senior advisor can assist you in finding answers to any questions you may have, which might not be information the city wants you to discover. There are a wide variety of resource materials that can be made available to you. ICMA, your state League of Cities, local foundations and universities, and your local city managers’ chapter can be of help. Ask your senior advisor to guide you to the right place to get what you need.

Consider Becoming a Senior Advisor

If you are retired or planning your retirement, serving as a senior advisor can offer you the opportunity to contribute valuable insights to a new generation of managers and public officials. We may know little about AI resources, the latest generation of computer programs, or the bells and whistles of Zoom meetings, but we have spent years understanding what the public wants, negotiating conflicts between elected officials, and developing collaborative skills that can make a difference. Learn more about the program here.

A. J. Wilson is lead ICMA senior advisor in California.