Phoenix is bringing back a city manager who retired under a cloud four years ago, and almost half the city council isn’t happy about it.

On Wednesday, the Phoenix City Council voted to formally approve the hire of Ed Zuercher, who previously served as city manager from 2013 to 2021. Zuercher has been working as the executive director of the Maricopa Association of Governments for the past two and a half years. He’ll take over for current city manager Jeff Barton, who is retiring later this fall.

Zuercher’s position is the most powerful in city government, responsible for running the city's day-to-day operations, overseeing all city departments and their 14,500 employees and managing the city’s budget and finances. Such a big job would seemingly merit a big job search, as the city put

See Full Page