When San Jose selects its next director of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, it should conduct an open, competitive national recruitment — not presume the position will be filled from within the department.

Qualified internal candidates who have demonstrated success in change management and possess relevant operational skills should be encouraged to apply and be evaluated fairly. But San Jose residents also deserve assurances that the city will consider the strongest available candidates before entrusting a new leader with hundreds of parks, community centers, recreation programs and other essential public services, along with a significant annual budget.

If San Jose wants meaningful improvement in its parks, it needs a director who brings fresh ideas, exceptional operational skills and a willingness to challenge practices and management cultures that are not producing results.

The parks department faces substantial leadership challenges, and estimates that its parks have accumulated approximately $554 million in deferred maintenance. Deferred maintenance is not solely a funding problem. Organizational productivity directly influences how much maintenance can be completed with available resources and, consequently, whether the backlog grows or declines. Park conditions remain inconsistent and well below basic expectations, and residents are frequently told inadequate funding is the reason maintenance falls short.

Resources certainly matter, but the funding narrative routinely distracts from the controllable problems that need to be addressed, such as poor operational management, low performance standards and a lack of management accountability.

Overcoming the leadership shortcomings within the parks department requires a director with specific operations-management experience who is capable of answering a basic operational question: How are productivity and performance measured, and how is management held accountable when results fall short?

In my nearly three years serving on the Parks and Recreation Commission, I have not seen a serious analysis of these questions, and current leadership has not effectively addressed them.

The City Council’s Neighborhood, Services and Education Committee should play an active role in defining the leadership outcomes the city needs. Since the committee oversees the parks department, it is well positioned to identify the most pressing challenges and the leadership capabilities required to address them.

The hiring criteria should include demonstrated success in improving field-maintenance productivity, establishing measurable service standards, addressing organizational underperformance, strengthening organizational accountability and communicating results transparently to residents and public bodies.

San Jose should not select its next parks director based on tenure, organizational convenience or a predetermined line of succession. This approach will fail our residents. It should select the person with the strongest demonstrated ability to improve services and produce measurable results in our parks.

If you agree, let your councilmember know you support an open, competitive national search.

Ken Brennan is a San Jose resident and District 10 member of the San Jose Parks and Recreation Commission. The views expressed are his own.