Longtime S.J. City Attorney Doyle dies
After two decades, official dies just two weeks after retiring
Former San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle, who spent the past two decades defending the city through some of its most tumultuous times, has died, just two weeks after he retired. He was 65.
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who worked with Doyle for 10 years as a council member and then as mayor, said Monday that the city had lost “one of its greatest champions.”
“Rick made a career out of fighting for our city, but through the toughest of battles — including his own courageous struggle against cancer — he never allowed himself to be anything less than the incredibly kind, thoughtful, good-spirited person that made him so beloved as a colleague and a friend,” Liccardo said. “I will miss him enormously, and my heart goes out to (his wife) Beckie and his family.”
Since 1985, San Jose has only had two people serve as its city attorney — Doyle and his predecessor, Joan Gallo. As San Jose’s lead city attorney, Doyle sat at the helm of a department with 87 full-time employees, including 48 lawyers.
Doyle guided the city through a plethora of continuous legal battles, from challenges to the city’s airport curfew to pension reductions for city employees to the city’s inclusionary affordable housing policy.
In an interview with this news organization earlier this month about
his retirement, Doyle said he was going to “miss the camaraderie and the people, not just in my own staff but in City Hall.”
“Everybody’s going to have their different views and passions, but at the end of the day, they’re all trying to do the right thing,” he said at the time.
Doyle died on Sunday. San Jose City Council member Dev Davis said she always admired Doyle’s willingness to work with the council, indulge them in deeper discussions about the law and offer different interpretations.
“A lot of lawyers default to telling you ‘no you can’t do something’ and Rick was more creative than that,” Councilmember Dev Davis said. “He was able to tell us how we could do things that could help our residents, not just say ‘no’, and I always appreciated that.”
Unlike the council members who sat next to Doyle on the dais at their weekly meetings, Doyle was never political. He was a “straight shooter” who always relied on the law rather than his emotions, according to council member Lan Diep.
“He never made it about himself,” Diep said. “He’d answer the questions of different council members — trying to achieve different answers or outcomes — and would respond professionally without inserting his personal preferences or biases.”
Doyle’s last day as lead city counsel was Aug. 8. Assistant City Attorney Nora Frimann is serving as the acting city attorney while a search for a permanent hire is conducted.