Marc Woolley was introduced as Charlottesville’s interim city manager on November 5. During a virtual press conference that day, the former Harrisburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bureaucrat claimed he was used to “high-stress environments” and was not fazed by Charlottesville’s recent high-profile departures. “I’ve been doing this for many, many years, and I’ve been in almost any type of situation,” he said.
Last Tuesday, Woolley resigned from the position, the day before he was supposed to report to City Hall to start working. He would have become the sixth city manager to lead Charlottesville since 2018, but his 11th-hour withdrawal has once again left the city without a boss. On Friday, the city published a request for a consulting company to take over management duties—there is an “emergency need to contract with an established firm that can provide management services to the City on an interim basis,” the formal request reads.
City Council announced Woolley’s withdrawal after a three-hour emergency closed meeting. Mayor Nikuyah Walker explained that Woolley told her November 21 that he would no longer be taking the job for “personal reasons.” Two days later, Woolley sent an official letter to council announcing his withdrawal.
“This was not an easy decision for me, and I want to thank the Charlottesville City Council for the opportunity and wish the residents of Charlottesville all the best,” Woolley wrote. In a later interview with NBC29, Woolley emphasized that the frequent instability inside the city government was not the reason behind his withdrawal. “The councilors, the City of Charlottesville, all welcomed me with open arms and I appreciate that, but it just turned out to be not a good fit for my spouse and my kids,” he said.
Though council wanted to alert the public of Woolley’s withdrawal before Thanksgiving, they were not able to do so, said Walker.
“We apologize to the community for that confusion,” said Walker after the closed session. “This was the first opportunity for us to get together to explore other options, and to kind of just brainstorm where we are and where we’re headed.”
Woolley has left previous jobs under duress. After serving as the business administrator of Harrisburg for four years, he resigned from his position at the end of October without giving an explanation. Woolley was also named in multiple lawsuits against the Philadelphia Housing Authority, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
Council had considered Woolley for Charlottesville’s deputy city manager of administration. Following Chip Boyles’ resignation in October, City Council went back to Woolley and appointed him interim manager. Woolley initially said he intended to apply for the permanent manager position when Charlottesville began a search in April 2022.
The city will hear pitches from management firms until December 14. “In addition to the vacancy in the City Manager position, the City’s human resources and police departments are without leaders at the director level,” the request reads. “Between the date of this RFP and April 2022 the new City Council (who will be seated January 1, 2022) will need to establish a strategic plan for the government and capital improvement and general fund budgets for Fiscal Year 2023.”
The city still hopes to hire a permanent manager in the second quarter of next year.
Correction, 12/11: Woolley was initially considered for the deputy city manager of administration job, not the deputy city manager of operations as was initially stated.