Hayward city manager placed on paid administrative leave, but officials won’t say exactly why

HAYWARD The Hayward City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to place City Manager Ana Alvarez on paid administrative leave less than six months after she was hired Mayor Mark Salinas noted Tuesday that the city had been conducting a performance evaluation of Alvarez since April which had been revisited on May and May But city executives did not publicly give an exact reason for placing her on leave City Attorney Michael Lawson is taking over city manager duties in the interim representatives announced Alvarez assumed her role on Jan replacing former city manager Kelly McAdoo who left in May after years with Hayward to work for the city of Santa Barbara In a news release Tuesday Hayward leaders announced Alvarez will remain on paid leave pending a final decision on her status and added that no further comment on the matter will be forthcoming from the city at this time Salinas did not straightaway return a request for comment Tuesday In a December news release announcing Alvarez s hiring Salinas announced he was beyond excited and called Alvarez a seasoned and highly skilled municipal administrator known for setting the bar high when it comes to delivering the very best masses services She embodies the dreams and aspirations of Hayward families with a remarkable journey of her own that began with humble immigrant roots Salinas disclosed in the announcement According to her two-year contract Alvarez gets a year in base pay plus benefits If terminated she is entitled to a minimum severance of days of salary and benefits paid in a lump sum according to the contract Alvarez previously worked as deputy general manager for the East Bay Regional Park District deputy director of Parks and Open Space for the city and county of San Francisco and director of the Santa Fe Springs Neighborhood Services Department Alvarez who was born in Mexico City holds a doctorate degree in plan planning and progress from the University of Southern California and a master s degree in community administration from California State University Northridge