Oro Valley is without a town manager.
In a contentious meeting Wednesday, a divided Town Council accepted the resignation of Town Manager David Andrews, who took over the position in September 2006.
"Shame, shame, shame," chanted members of the audience who were there in support of Andrews.
Even before the council's 4-3 vote, it became clear Andrews' departure was mired in internal bickering, personality clashes and behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
Emotions ran high as the meeting disintegrated into a hostile exchange of accusations and innuendo surrounding Andrews and his job performance.
"I used to serve on this council and I'm very embarrassed," Oro Valley resident Conny Culver said.
The battle lines were drawn early on with Mayor Paul Loomis siding with Vice Mayor Kenneth "KC" Carter and council members Al Kunisch and Paula Abbott as the majority. The staunch defense of Andrews by the council's Salette Latas, Bill Garner and Barry Gillaspie went nowhere.
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The two sides couldn't even agree on whether to discuss Andrews' performance behind closed doors, as personnel matters are routinely taken up. The meeting remained open to the public, but the council cited no specific reasons related to Andrews' job performance.
Andrews' submittal of a resignation letter appeared to catch some council members by surprise. An irate Garner demanded to know why the mayor had visited Andrews in his office to discuss a possible resignation.
The town manager had asked "to be allowed to resign rather than to be removed from office by not renewing his contract," Loomis said.
Gillaspie and Latas had assumed that Andrews was performing satisfactorily after the council's annual review last week, they said.
Gillaspie called the evening's developments "a flat-out attempt" at a cover-up.
Latas called the town manager's departure an "unjustifiable dismissal."
Meanwhile, Carter referred to "things" that Andrews failed to accomplish, and Abbott said there were "issues" surrounding the town manager.
"If I divulge all of the issues, it will hurt him," she said.
In the end, Oro Valley citizens who wanted Andrews to keep his job left Town Hall without a plausible explanation for his departure.
"There's so much gossip going around," Kathy Pastryk said. "It has nothing to do with his job performance."
Andrews worked for the town nearly 18 years. Before becoming town manager, Andrews was Oro Valley's assistant town manager and its finance director. He leaves with a severance package of about $144,700.
Earlier this year, Andrews led Oro Valley through one of the town's most difficult financial periods.
His budget-cutting proposals — which included employee layoffs — angered Oro Valley police officers, and the police union repeatedly took aim at Andrews at council meetings and in radio ads. A council majority ultimately voted against the job cuts, in much the same way as Wednesday.
After the council vote, Andrews thanked Oro Valley residents who had called him reliable, fiscally responsible and fair-minded. As Andrews left the dais, he angrily ordered Carter to stay off his property and walked away.
