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Chicago whiz-kid enviro leader hired to be Vancouver’s deputy manager

September 1st, 2009 · 9 Comments

City hall is buzzing this morning about the official announcement that a young guy from Mayor Richard Daley’s office in Chicago has been hired as the new deputy city manager. Sadhu Johnston has gotten lots of glowing press in the States for his leadership in giving Chicago the reputation as a leading green city.

I’ll have a fuller story on him in the Globe tomorrow, but in the meantime, here’s the brief story on his departure from the Chicago Sun-Times, a link to a video of a speech he gave in Chicago a couple of years ago, and the internal memo from city manager Penny Ballem that got sent out quickly today to staff. (Announcement wasn’t supposed to be until later this week but the news leaked out in Chicago that he was leaving.)

From: Ballem, Penny
To: Corporate Management Team (COV) – DL; Au, Wendy; Coulson, Marg; Hui, Tony; Kay, Monica; Aujla, Bill; Anton, Suzanne; Cadman, David; Chow, George; Deal, Heather; Jang, Kerry; Louie, Raymond; Meggs, Geoff; Reimer, Andrea; Robertson, Gregor; Stevenson, Tim; Woodsworth, Ellen
Cc: Magee, Michael; Quinlan, Kevin; Dobrinskaya, Maria; Stewart, Wendy; CMT Admin Assts – DL; Lee, Daisy; Weidema, Michelle
Sent: Tue Sep 01 13:12:51 2009
Subject: Appointment of New Deputy City Manager

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Sadhu A. Johnston as  Deputy City  Manager, effective November 2, 2009. Sadhu’s appointment caps a  four month international search conducted by a Vancouver executive search firm. The process attracted exceptional candidates from around the world.  After review by the recruitment committee of senior staff and me, Sadhu was the unanimous choice.
Sadhu brings a tremendous perspective and unique skill set to our management team.  His leadership on sustainability, city improvement projects and environmental issues in Chicago and North America dovetails perfectly with the initiatives and agenda we are delivering.In addition, he has served at the highest level of Chicago’s city administration and has hands-on experience in the day-to-day operations of a civic government serving close to three million citizens.
Sadhu has family in Vancouver and has visited the city a number of times.  He holds dual U.S. Canadian citizenship. I am delighted we have found someone with such a wealth of experience and I am very pleased Sadhu has agreed to join our leadership team, relocating his wife and young daughter to Vancouver. I look forward to introducing him to you in November.

Penny Ballem
City Manager
City of Vancouver

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