Los Gatos assistant town manager resigns, heads for Mountain View

Los Gatos Assistant Town Manager Arn Andrews resigned last week to take the role of assistant city manager in Mountain View.

Andrews' departure follows five other senior-level staffers leaving the town in the last year, including the town attorney, parks and public works director and finance director.

“This is kind of the way it is, I think, in so many industries, local government as well as the tech industry and other places. People are moving around quite a bit,” said Los Gatos Town Manager Laurel Prevetti. “It's not surprising that someone of Arn's talent found a great opportunity in a slightly larger city and a different set of challenges and opportunities.”

Andrews worked in Los

Gatos for nearly six years and helped craft the Town Council Strategic Priorities, oversaw the Information Technology Department and found a new operator for the Los Gatos Theatre, which reopened earlier this month.

“I'm kind of surprised myself. I love the town and the town team, and it sounds cliche, but it really was bittersweet and a hard decision to make,” Andrews said. “But the new opportunity was pretty compelling, and it's going to be an interesting portfolio of work, and so professionally it's a very interesting opportunity.”

The Mountain View position comes with a $306,000 starting salary, nearly $80,000 more than the $227,529 maximum salary for Los Gatos' assistant town manager role, but Andrews said the decision to leave wasn't related to his paycheck.

Andrews said he took a pay cut when he came to Los Gatos from San Jose, but he chose to take the job because he was “going to learn a lot.”

“Finances are nice; it doesn't hurt, but I get more value out of the type of work I do rather than just being financially compensated,” Andrews said.

Prevetti said the search is on to find Andrews' replacement. The town is recruiting internally and externally for the job.

“I am eager to fill the job and find some new talent,” Prevetti said. “I think for all organizations and companies — again, it's not unique to local government — we are all resilient and we will continue to adapt and change and attract the best candidates as possible.”

Andrews will work under Mountain View City Manager Kimbra McCarthy to support the finance and administrative services, human resources and information technology departments.

“I am excited for Arn Andrews to join our talented, high-performing team in Mountain View in the new year,” McCarthy said. “Arn is devoted to public service, and his years of local government and finance experience combined with his focused leadership will help our city move forward in achieving its strategic priorities, including organizational strength and good governance.“

Andrews will help Mountain View finish its Information Technology Strategic Plan, upgrade the utility billing system and secure funding for a new public safety building.

Andrews has more than 15 years of local government experience. Feb. 13 will be his first day in Mountain View.