Jerry Keithley
From Palo Alto Wiki
Jerry Keithley was hired as Palo Alto's first city manager in 1950. He is credited with creatign a strong set of city policies.
In the 1950s, Keithley took part in the fight between residentialists and the pro-growth Council. Keithley, along with Noel Porter (vice president at Hewlett-Packard, Co.) as well as Alf Brandin (vice president for business affairs at Stanford University) basically ran the town.
The Keithley-Porter-Brandin triumvirate was "really incredible to watch," resident Enid Pearson remembered.
In the many meetings between university and city officials to deal with issues such as expansion of city utilities and other matters relating to the development of the industrial park, Keithley protected the city's interests while Brandin tried to watch out for the university's interests. And Porter, Brandin said, "showed no quarter to the university."
