Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher retiring after 8 years leading city

Phoenix City Manager Ed Zuercher is retiring later this year after eight years leading the state’s largest city.

His retirement caps a nearly 30-year career with the city that began in 1993. His last day is Oct. 8, according to the city, which announced his retirement on Monday.

"Eight years as city manager have flown by," Zuercher told The Arizona Republic. "Mayor and council have been great to me and to work for and I'm looking forward to being an ordinary citizen and cheering Phoenix on from the sidelines."

Zuercher, 56, was appointed acting city manager in October 2013 after then-City Manager David Cavazos left for a job in California. The Phoenix City Council unanimously chose Zuercher to take on the role permanently in February 2014.

It was a move leaders at the time hoped would strengthen both the city's finances and employee morale. 

Mayor Kate Gallego said Zuercher led the city through "many of our greatest triumphs" and she congratulated him on his retirement.

"He is a thoughtful, wise, respected leader and has made the City of Phoenix a stronger city during his time as City Manager," she said in a statement. "I am proud to have worked with him on so many critical issues."

The mayor and council will develop guidelines to recruit for Zuercher's replacement as he wraps up the job. Phoenix is the largest U.S. city with a council-manager form of government where the manager oversees day-to-day operations and the position reports directly to the council.

From improving city finances to strengthening employee relationships

Zuercher started as a management intern in 1993 and worked his way up, serving in several executive roles such as public transit director, mayor’s chief of staff and assistant city manager before being appointed city manager in 2013. He taught high school before working for the city.

As manager, he oversees a workforce of 14,500 employees and a budget of $4 billion.

His time at the helm of the city has been marked by challenges and triumphs, he said.

Phoenix faced a $37 million budget deficit when he came on that led to pay and service cuts and in recent years the city has faced increased scrutiny over the Police Department's treatment of Black and Latino residents.

Zuercher said those are two of the biggest challenges he has faced as manager but they were "met by working hard to turn things around ... and have been turned into important changes."

He leaves the city with a $30 million surplus, according to the city, and has worked with the Police Department and council to address calls for police reform.

Employee morale was low when he took on the role but Zuercher said those relationships have been strengthened. Being named one of the country's best employers by Forbes in 2020 was a highlight of his career and showed the organization "is a place where employees want to be," he said.

'Let the next generation have its turn'

Zuercher said he's been eligible to retire for five years but felt like he still had more to accomplish.

After the council approved the current budget in mid-May, he started thinking more seriously about retiring, he said. 

The issues the city faced when he first came on have been addressed, the city is seeing sustainable economic growth and he's hired a solid management team to continue leading the city, he said.

"When I came in, there was a financial hole, employees had to give money back and we had to cut programs. Here we are eight years later and we have a budget surplus, we haven't had to lay off employees even during COVID, we restored and increased pay for employees and we've increased services," he said. "To me, that's the best time to step aside, when things are going great, and let the next generation have its turn." 

Zuercher is planning to stay in Phoenix and will take the next couple of months to figure out his next move, he said.

"I have some personal things I'd like to do but I want to take a moment to pause, reflect and recharge," he said. 

Reach reporter Paulina Pineda at paulina.pineda@azcentral.com or 480-389-9637. Follow her on Twitter: @paulinapineda22.

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