THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020395
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Assistant City Manager George C. Crawley, architect of the city's community policing program and a top administrator for decades, announced his retirement Thursday because of age and health concerns.
Crawley's departure in two weeks will end four decades of public service for one of the most prominent African Americans in Norfolk's government.
Crawley's concern over his health sparked his decision. He nearly died last year during colon surgery, and although he said his health is now ``the best it's been in 10 years,'' the brush with death made him reconsider his priorities.
He said he found himself unable to resist returning to the ``hectic work habits of yesteryear,'' so he and his wife, Cynthia, decided it was time for him to retire.
``I just saw myself getting back in the rat race,'' Crawley, 61, said.
Several top administrators have left the city in the past year or so. They include Ronald W. Massie, who came out of retirement to become Portsmouth city manager, and most recently James J. Gildea, a senior planning official who is now planning director in Portsmouth.
City Manager James B. Oliver said he would have to reconfigure the duties of the deputy and three assistant city managers because Crawley's job was built around his unique set of strengths.
``George has an amazingly rich career in public service,'' Oliver said. ``To many, he symbolizes something decent about city government.''
Crawley supervised police, fire, libraries, social services and public health, and he was the council's liaison with the courts and school system.
Before becoming assistant city manager in 1983, Crawley served as director of human services, executive director of the STOP program and was an executive with the Planning Council.
He said his biggest achievement in the past decade was overseeing the establishment of the city's community policing program, or PACE, which has won Norfolk national attention and helped drop the crime rate, said city officials.
As PACE's founder, Crawley has visited the White House and consulted with top Justice Department officials. Crawley said he might do part-time consulting work on community policing.
``I'm not looking for a full-time job, but I'm going to stay busy,'' Crawley said. ``I won't be fishing or playing golf.''
A native of Newport News, Crawley first came to Norfolk in the early 1960s as an executive with the Planning Council.
Crawley is married with two grown children. His wife, Cynthia, plans to retire from the Norfolk school system later this year, he said. ILLUSTRATION: Assistant City Manager George C. Crawley has spent four decades
in public service, and founded PACE in Norfolk.
by CNB