Straight Talk
Chicago "whiz kid" Sadhu Aufochs Johnston named Vancouver’s deputy city manager
The mayor of Chicago’s deputy chief of staff will be the City of Vancouver’s next deputy city manager.
Vancouver city manager Penny Ballem announced today (September 1) that she has hired Sadhu Aufochs Johnston as her new deputy.
“We have in Sadhu Aufochs Johnston a seasoned city administrator and a highly experienced leader who has pioneered environmental programs, strategies and regulations for the United States’ third largest city,” Ballem said in a press release.
Johnston will starting working at City Hall on November 2.
“Growing up as a child, I spent many summers in Vancouver visiting family,” Johnston said in the release. “Ever since then, as I worked to make U.S. cities green, I looked to Vancouver for inspiration. I’m thrilled to be coming to live and work in this inspiring city and to be part of a team engaged in making Vancouver healthier, greener and more environmentally friendly. “
Johnston currently also serves as the chief environmental officer for Chicago mayor Richard Daley’s office. It’s apparently the first position of its kind in a U.S. city government.
An article posted today on the Chicago Sun-Times Web site called Johnston the “35-year-old whiz kid who spearheaded Mayor Daley’s ‘greening of Chicago’”.
Johnston was born in England; has lived in Asia, Europe, and the U.S.; and is both a Canadian and U.S. citizen.
His appointment fills a hole left by the departures of deputy city managers James Ridge and Jody Andrews.
Both senior bureaucrats resigned in the months following the Vision Vancouver-controlled city council’s replacement of city manager Judy Rogers.
You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.



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Where will their loyalties be? Working for a city like Vancouver should require non-dual citizenship
seth
http://www.alaw.org/air_quality/outdoor_air_quality/facts_about_diesel_e...
Sure, you’ve heard it all before, but David Suzuki says the same thing over and over again, too, about saving the planet even though he never actually does anything. Do you censor him?
We already have too many City of Vancouver staff members who just go to meetings and avoid ruffling any feathers at TransLink. If the new deputy city manager has integrity and stomps on TransLink, great; if he is just going to be one the boys at the City of Vancouver, too bad; it's a waste of $150K/yr to $250K/yr or whatever he is getting paid to implement trivial programs which accomplish very little but give a good impression to the public.
I’m a chemical engineer with a master’s degree in environmental management and am way more qualified than Mr. Hot Shot from Chicago, but don’t expect the City of Vancouver to hire me or someone like me; the position of deputy city manager isn’t for anyone who can do any good or make a difference. It’s all about politics and all you need is a Bachelor of Arts degree in environmental studies and political science for this position to put on a big show for the public.
Why was there no candidate selected from within our thousands of city employees? This is another example of management failure to train successors.
Johnston is deeply involved with the entire Chicago city administration.
So our council and management have decided Vancouver is just small time and needs help from big brother to run our city.
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