Overview

• Zuercher will return in mid-November at roughly $415,000 a year, and his city pension will be suspended during his service.
• City attorneys said there was no public search or formal interviews, and internal candidates such as Assistant City Manager Lori Bays were not vetted.
• The appointment passed 5–4 with Mayor Kate Gallego joining four conservative-leaning members, and a motion to delay the vote failed by the same margin.
• A city code clause discouraging rehiring retirees for the same duties was reviewed, and outside counsel said the move is legally permissible.
• Advocacy groups including Mass Liberation AZ, Semillas AZ and BLM Metro Phoenix opposed the hire, while business and transit leaders backed Zuercher’s experience; his prior tenure ended as a DOJ probe later found systemic unconstitutional policing by Phoenix police.