New Hamilton mayor Loomis taps Chris Murray to return as acting city manager

A familiar face is returning to one of the City of Hamilton’s top jobs, as mayor-elect Keanin Loomis announced he intends to bring in Chris Murray as the acting city manager.

Murray was previously the city manager from 2009 to 2018, and Loomis says this time around, he will help usher in a new culture in the city’s top office.

“It’s a major project in this community, it is transformational in many respects, and so we look forward to working with the province on it,” said Murray to CHCH News on the Light Rail Transit project back in 2015.

He served in the role from 2009 until 2018, when he joined the City of Toronto for a term. Now, he’s coming out of retirement and heading back to the Hammer.

“It’s very fortunate for Hamilton to have someone like that who lives here with that amount of experience and is willing to step up,” said Loomis.

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Loomis announced Friday his intention to appoint Murray as the acting city manager, saying Murray will likely stay on until the budget is passed in the new year, and help with hiring a permanent replacement.

“It kind of just gives us the ability to take a beat and make sure we’re doing the process right,” said Loomis.

In a statement, Murray called it an “honour” writing, “I look forward to working with the mayor-elect, City staff and the broader organization to provide continuity and support a smooth and productive transition as the City prepares to select its next permanent city manager.”

Murray is returning to a very different city hall than he last saw in 2018, one that has seen considerable turnover of top city staff in recent years, with the departure of previous city manager Marnie Cluckie, the general manager of planning and economic development, executive director of human resources and the director of diversity, all leaving in the past year.

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Not to mention, the city said it fired 17 managers and senior staff members between 2022 and the end of last year, as part of what councillors deemed a “cultural change.”

Loomis wasn’t shy about the problems with the city’s workplace culture while on the campaign trail, again on Friday saying that change starts at the top.

“I think there’s nowhere to go but up,” said Loomis. “It doesn’t matter what strategy you have in place, if you don’t have the culture right, it’s not going to be implemented, so we’ve got to get that right, first and foremost.”

As for who will take over the job permanently, Loomis says, “It has to be somebody who has world class talent who can help Hamilton become the world-class mid-sized city we all know it can be.”

Hamilton City Council returns on Nov. 18.

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