Vancouver city manager Paul Mochrie steps down

The City of Vancouver is looking for a new manager. 

Mayor Ken Sim announced Tuesday that Paul Mochrie would be leaving his role as city manager, after more than four years in the job, and a decade before that, in other senior roles with the city.   

"Paul and I mutually agreed that it was the right time for a leadership change," Sim said in a statement. 

"We thank Paul for his 14 years of dedicated service, including the last four as city manager, and wish him nothing but success in the future."

As city manager, Mochrie oversaw Vancouver's nearly 10,000 employees, with the heads of various departments reporting to his office. While the city manager role is non-political, that position is the liaison between city council and staff. 

Mochrie, who was deputy city manager when he replaced Sadhu Johnston in the role in 2021, made $387,110 last year, the most of any city employee other than now-retired, former Vancouver Police Department chief Adam Palmer.

Sim's statement said that Mochrie would assist with a transition, and that Deputy City Manager Karen Levitt would become acting city manager while the city hired a permanent replacement.

The Early Edition7:44Resignation of Vancouver city manager is "mutual"

Mayor Ken Sim announced Paul Mochrie will be leaving his role, saying that they "mutually agreed that it was the right time for a leadership change." Globe and Mail reporter Frances Bula goes over his time in the position and what this could signal for the direction of the Mayor's Office.

'He was good about clarifying tradeoffs'

Adriane Carr, who served on council from 2011 until this year under three different city managers, had high praise for Mochrie.

"Paul was great at actually levelling with council in terms of if you go this way, these will be the potential repercussions," she said.

"He had the right people explaining things and answering questions from council on issues. Ultimately, of course, council makes the decisions on the heavy-duty things, including budgets … but he was good about clarifying tradeoffs."

While details of Mochrie's departure weren't made public, city managers — or "chief administrative officers, as they're known in most municipalities — serve at the pleasure of the mayor and council.

While Sim praised the work of senior staff prior to being elected mayor in 2022, it's not uncommon for changes in government to bring a change in the head of the civil service, as was the case in 2008 when Vancouver's longtime city manager Judy Rogers was let go immediately after Vision Vancouver and Mayor Gregor Robertson swept to power. 

But Carr said prior to her resignation, she saw a healthy working relationship between Sim and senior staff.  

"[Sim] was very good at setting up as many briefings and meetings with senior staff as we wanted as council, and that's really sound management."

At the same time, she said she hoped whoever replaced Mochrie would continue to point out tradeoffs to council about their decisions, specifically citing Sim's enthusiasm around the city investing in bitcoin.

"When you have a majority council with some very strong ideas about directions to go in, it's going to take an exceptional person to be able to say yes, you have a majority on council, but let me just spell out possible negative outcomes and risks if we go in the direction you're suggesting," she said.