I write this letter for Sharon Landers to convey my unqualified support for her to be your next City Manager – if selected to be your next City Manager you will not be disappointed.
When I was Carson Mayor we unanimously selected Sharon as our City Manager in May 2019. Although it was a challenging assignment, considering Carson’s well-known contentious politics, Sharon’s performance was always stellar. She held herself and her team to very high standards and always acted with the highest ethics, professionalism, and integrity.
Sharon and I worked together for almost two years until my term ended in early 2021. I have the utmost respect and admiration for her, particularly because she had to navigate in an exceedingly difficult political environment without herself becoming political. Sharon maintained confidentiality with each of the Councilmembers while using her knowledge and insight to find areas of common ground. She worked with each of us to make our most compelling points in any philosophical debate on an item before the City Council, and most importantly, she helped us find the way to putting Carson on the best financial footing ever, resulting in the first structurally balanced budget in a generation and highest reserves ever, which helped Carson weather the COVID-19 pandemic better than most. Sharon was fiercely supportive of the City’s workforce in ensuring that our employees had the training and resources needed to accomplish the Council’s priorities, and as a result earned their respect.
I respected Sharon’s direct approach with all of us, which helped ensure that our expectations for City staff were clearly articulated. This was balanced with her compassion, good judgment, thoughtfulness, and sense of fairness. In addition, her legal training, and her quick mind, as well as her strong relationship with our City Attorney, helped the City navigate through a multitude of very complex and challenging municipal issues. On the limited occasions that Sharon and I had differing points of view, we were always able to have frank and professional conversations. I always knew I could trust her to be honest and be loyal to the best interests of our residents-and City. We developed a strong relationship while I was Carson Mayor that we have maintained even though I am no longer on the City Council.
I encourage you to select Sharon Landers as your next City Manager. I can assure you that she will serve your City with integrity, professionalism and help your organization become even more successful like she did in Carson – and unless your political climate is as contentious as Carson’s, I can guarantee you that she will succeed even more in your City.
– Albert Robles, Former Carson Mayor