California Redevelopment Association Executive Director John Shirey emerged as the front-runner Friday for Sacramento’s city manager position.

“Right now, we’re going through the process (of hiring a city manager),” said City Councilman Darrell Fong. “He is definitely the strong candidate, and he is definitely the focus.”

The council has not made a decision, though there was a closed-session meeting Monday in which the city manager search was the topic. The city has been without a city manager since Ray Kerridge resigned in March, 2010.

In the meantime, both Gus Vina and a former city manager, Bill Edgar, served as interim city managers. Edgar is currently serving as interim city manager.

Shirey told The Sacramento Press Friday that the news is “a little premature because we haven’t made an agreement yet,” but confirmed that the city has indicated to him that he is a strong candidate.

“It’s a sensitive point in the discussion, and I want to make sure I don’t breach any confidences with the mayor and City Council,” he said, declining to speculate on whether an offer will be forthcoming.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson wrote on his blog Friday that he is unhappy with the direction the city manager search has taken, but will respect the collective decision of the City Council.

“Having reviewed the pool of applicants in our latest search for a new city manager, I am disappointed to report the water has not run as deep as I would have hoped,” he wrote.

Fong told The Sacramento Press Friday that a little over 30 applicants responded to the national search.

“I was comfortable with the process,” Fong said. “To me, the candidate base, it could have been larger, yes, but I have been through a lot of (hiring) processes with the Police Department, and I think (the city manager search consultants) did a good job.”

In a prepared statement Friday, Johnson said: "I'm disappointed in the process. It's the same process that has led to five city managers in less than six years. It's clear I have a different vision for the city and this position than the majority of council. But, I will respect our collective decision, and join all of my colleagues in offering my full support to the new city manager."

On his blog, he wrote that “a revolving door in your city manager’s office is nothing to brag about” and added that having repeated city manager searches does not instill leadership in a city.

But Fong said he thinks Shirey will fit the bill.

“If he is selected, I am confident he will do a very good job,” Fong said, describing Shirey as very professional and well-respected.

Shirey, 62, served as city manager for Cincinnati from 1993-2001 and said he is most proud of the redevelopment of the waterfront.

“When I arrived, it was mostly parking lots, abandoned rail lines and broken-down warehouses,” Shirey said. “It is now in a totally different state, including two new sports stadiums, which led to the retention of the Bengals and a home for the Reds.”

The Bengals arena, however, has been a controversial issue as noted in this recent Wall Street Journal article. 

He said another accomplishment he oversaw in Cincinnati was the beautification of a freeway that traversed the area between much of the city and the waterfront.

“It’s a much safer route, and we incorporated a multimodal transportation center,” he said.

An arena and multimodal transit hub are two big projects the city of Sacramento is currently working on, but Shirey said that, if hired, those would not be his first tasks.

“I think the priority for me and the priority for the City Council is, first of all, we have to bring financial stability to the government, and we have to think how we’re going to do things differently that are going to be more efficient and economical while maintaining the important services the citizens expect,” he said.

Fong said talks of arenas and transit hubs did not factor heavily into the interview process, and were not brought up in the interviews he sat in on.

“He didn’t bring up those points,” Fong said Friday. “He’s talking about bringing economic development to Sacramento.”

After serving as city manager in Cincinnati, Shirey came to the California Redevelopment Association, headquartered in Sacramento.

“He has lived in the city for the past nine or 10 years,” Fong said, adding that it was to his district that Shirey moved. “He has strong knowledge, and given his employment, he’s been keeping up on what’s going on in the city.”

Shirey said he thinks that helps prepare him to take the job if it is offered to him.

“I’m a resident, and I work here,” he said. “Obviously, it has helped me to know the personalities in the city. I know the issues and the challenges it faces.”

Shirey is one of two candidates remaining in a process that drew more than 30 applicants, Fong said, declining to name the other.

The process involved hiring a consultant to conduct a national search for a city manager candidate. Council members gave the consulting firm a list of qualities they were looking for, and after the application process, it was narrowed down to the two remaining ones.

A decision on the city manager position is expected soon. The original contract with Edgar as interim city manager went into effect April 9 and was for a three-month period.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow him on Twitter @Brandon_Darnell.