Wednesday, October 02, 2002 Goodbye to fired leader a bit awkward   By Jason Gewirtz, Staff writer LONG BEACH - A month after being fired, City Manager Henry Taboada was lauded Tuesday at his final City Council meeting with proclamations, gifts, a slide show and even a song in his honor. Taboada then took a parting shot, attributing his departure to term limits, parochial politics, a "leadership vacuum' and an unresponsive electorate. The largely celebratory mood in a packed Council Chambers led to some awkward moments for the council, which allowed Taboada an extra month in office after orchestrating his dismissal on Sept. 4. While some council members offered kind words for the departing Taboada, others were silent or reluctantly joined standing ovations for the manager they agreed to unanimously fire just four weeks ago. In a prepared speech, Taboada said that council members, focused on district politics, have left a void in terms of citywide vision. Only the mayor and city manager, he said, have that responsibility. "Since neither have a vote, citywide matters are, at best, compromised and at worst, pushed aside for more parochial interests,' he said. Further, Taboada said that council members elected by small vote counts have no mandate to guide their decision making. Term limits, he said, helped charge the political environment that led to his dismissal. "Term limits also create a sense of urgency to do something quickly, whatever the costs,' he said. Taboada's comments were his final ones at a council meeting after 27 years working for the city in various capacities. His comments came at the start of Tuesday's meeting, and he left City Hall for a Taboada's words were preceded by roughly an hour of praise that was at times gushing, and at times visibly awkward for some of the council members who fired him. Taboada, who maintained a steady smile throughout the presentation, received proclamations from a variety of politicians, including letters of praise from Gov. Gray Davis, Rep. Steve Horn and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe. Assemblywoman, and former city councilwoman, Jenny Oropeza personally presented Taboada with a proclamation from the city's legislative delegation in Sacramento. Oropeza praised Taboada's work on diversity issues, fighting hate crimes and his overall leadership. "For me, you've been a class act, buddy,' she said. Councilman Dennis Carroll, who has openly criticized the process that led to Taboada's firing despite agreeing to the dismissal, offered a slide show highlighting Taboada's employment in the city. The display featured photographs of Taboada's youth and lengthy list of city accomplishments that occurred after he became city manager in January 1999. But the evening's lightest moment came from Lucy Daggett, president of the Public Corporation for the Arts board, who sang a remade version of "Swanee' for Taboada. The song included the lyrics, "Henry, how we love you, how we'll miss you, our manager, Henry.' The tone of the ceremony mirrored those for the final meetings of council members who leave office following election defeats or term limits. But the fact that Taboada's end came by firing led to some awkward moments. On two occasions Tuesday, Taboada received a standing ovation from the crowd and from council members. Council members Dan Baker and Laura Richardson-Batts, two of Taboada's biggest critics, were the last to rise for the ovations. Neither clapped and neither spoke following the presentations. Councilwoman Bonnie Lowenthal, another critic, did not attend Tuesday's meeting. Lowenthal hosted a Sept. 3 meeting of four council members, during which Taboada was asked to retire before being fired. Following that meeting, the council scheduled an abrupt closed-door performance review on Sept. 4. Taboada was given another chance to retire during that review, but was fired on a 9-0 vote after turning down the offer. Council members have not offered specific reasons for the firing, citing the confidentiality of the closed-door review. But Taboada has been criticized for his communication with the council, his guiding of the delayed Pike at Rainbow Harbor project, a city budget with a projected $46 million General Fund deficit and the city's handling of the natural gas rate hike of winter 2000-2001. In his speech on Tuesday, Taboada also offered the council advice for selecting his permanent predecessor, urging the group to make a "truly unanimous' choice. While he was appointed in late 1998 on a unanimous vote, Taboada said the vote behind the scenes was 6-3. "I both suffered and endured the burden of a divided council before I began my first day in office,' he said. Assistant City Manager Jerry Miller will serve as acting city manager until a permanent replacement is found. Council members expect that process to take up to six months.