Weis interview irks Ott

City Manager Marc Ott has made it clear that he is not pleased with a recent Austin American-Statesman article about outgoing Austin Energy General Manager Larry Weis. In a memo addressed to Mayor Steve Adler and City Council, Ott said that he was “troubled by many of the things conveyed in the article” and took particular issue with the categorization of Council as “naive.” He wrote, “I completely disagree that the City Council is ‘naive’ about utility issues. This Council has gotten up to speed very quickly and has engaged in ‘utility issues’ on many fronts. Any newly elected official will spend time getting familiar with the organization, but painting you as ‘naive’ is a disservice.” In the memo, Ott apologized for that characterization of Council, and in reference to Weis’ interview with the Statesman, he explained, “I assure you that I did NOT endorse this public process and was only informed about it after it had occurred.”