Jake Rudolph to remain as Nanaimo city manager

Nanaimo’s chief administrative officer isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

The City of Nanaimo announced Friday that Jake Rudolph has agreed to a new one-year contract, making him the city’s chief administrative officer until the end of 2019. He will earn $264,000 as the city’s top employee this year and is no longer considered an interim CAO.

Rudolph was hired on an interim basis last summer, replacing former chief administrative officer Tracy Samra, who was fired with cause. Rudolph’s original contract was set to expire in March.

“I am very pleased to be able to continue with the city providing leadership stability with staff and serving the newly elected council. I look forward to 2019 with enthusiasm and optimism,” Rudolph said in a press release.

Rudolph previously worked as the City of Abbotsford’s deputy chief administrative officer and was chief administrative officer with the City of Pitt Meadows for more than 10 years.

READ ALSO: Interim CAO looks to bring stability to city management in Nanaimo

Speaking to the News Bulletin, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said the decision to promote Rudolph from interim to city manager was made in-camera late last year. Krog said council recognized early on that Rudolph was an excellent fit for the city and wanted him around for another year.

“Many of us commented during the election campaign, candidates for mayor and council, that one of the first tasks was to hire a CAO,” Krog said. “I think once we were all elected and arrived and looked at the situation, considered Jake’s performance and the need for stability in the city and the given the difficulties of the past four years, we came quite quickly to a decision that the best thing for the city was to hire Jake.”

City of Nanaimo has announced interim chief administrative officer Jake Rudolph will continue as CAO for all of 2019. "I am pleased to see stability and quality in our top job as council works to move the city forward," said Mayor Leonard Krog in a press release. #Nanaimo

— Nanaimo Bulletin (@NanaimoBulletin) January 4, 2019

Krog said the one-year term on Rudolph’s contract was an arrangement that worked for both parties and that councillors are “absolutely” satisfied with Rudolph’s performance so far.

“He’s very able, he’s experienced and you have to start from a position of both admiration and respect for someone who is prepared to come and work at the City of Nanaimo in that position at the time he did,” Krog said. “He’s not shrinking violet. He came to this city at a time when many wouldn’t have even given it a second thought.”