Brimhall Said to Be Doing Well After Open-Heart Surgery

THOUSAND OAKS —  City Manager Grant Brimhall, this city’s top bureaucrat for nearly two decades, underwent open-heart surgery Tuesday after medical tests revealed five blockages in his heart.

Brimhall, 60, was recovering at Columbia Los Robles Hospital after quintuple-bypass surgery and doing well, according to doctors and city officials.

Family members were with Brimhall during the operation, and city officials joined them to greet him afterward, friends said.

“The surgery went well,” said cardiac surgeon Mohammad Gharavi in a news release. “The patient is stable with excellent results.”

Although two of Brimhall’s heart vessels were 90% blocked, he expects a full and quick recovery, said Assistant City Manager MaryJane Lazz.

“My understanding from talking with Grant [on Monday] night is that this is fairly routine, and that he is going to be back,” Lazz said. “He was saying that he is going to be skiing by December.”

Lazz, who is acting city manager, paced a City Hall meeting Tuesday night, using a cellular phone to check with the hospital and Brimhall’s family about his condition.

She said news of Brimhall’s illness leaked out earlier in the day, and that the city received dozens of calls from well-wishers, business people and officials from other jurisdictions.

All were assured that Brimhall was well, she said, because the heart problems were discovered before an attack.

“Following a routine physical last week, they discovered he might have some blockages, so [Monday] he went in for an angiogram, and they discovered he did indeed have blockages,” Lazz said.

“His twin brother had a heart attack a month or so ago,” she added. “We’re glad this was discovered in time.”

City Councilman Andy Fox, who was at the hospital after the surgery to try to cheer up Brimhall, said the trim and fit city manager was upbeat before the operation.

“We had a few laughs,” Fox said. “He was in very good spirits.”

Nonetheless, Fox said he was stunned by Brimhall’s sudden hospitalization.

“Those of us who know him really well know he had a history of this in his family,” Fox said. “But certainly, all of us were shocked. At the same time, we’re grateful they caught this before he had a heart attack.”

Mayor Judy Lazar wished Brimhall a prompt return, noting his longtime role in overseeing the transformation of Thousand Oaks from a small town to cosmopolitan city.

“The City Council, city staff--and indeed, our community--have been guided by an exemplary person, our city manager, for the past 20 years,” Lazar said in a news release. “Grant’s leadership and guidance have been instrumental in the creation of the city in which we live.”

Regarded as a visionary by some, a schemer by others, Brimhall’s strong leadership has been a subject of intense debate in Thousand Oaks since the former Gardena city manager first came to town in 1978.

The current council majority of Lazar, Fox and Councilman Mike Markey have repeatedly praised Brimhall for helping make Thousand Oaks a modern city, pointing out his legendary ability to secure every available tax dollar.

Councilwomen Elois Zeanah and Linda Parks, meanwhile, have accused Brimhall of fostering a climate of divisiveness at City Hall.

Former Mayor Larry Horner, who checked Brimhall’s background before he was hired, said he was surprised to learn of the surgery.

“I’ve seen his kids grow up,” Horner said. “I hope he comes out of this OK, because he’s too close to retirement to have something bad happen now.”

In an interview two years ago, Brimhall said he planned to retire in 1998. But he has made no announcement of precisely when he will leave city management.

Privately, however, several City Hall insiders have said recently that Brimhall’s relationship with Parks and Zeanah--and Zeanah’s recent recall election victory--are among the reasons he is now contemplating retirement more seriously than ever.

Brimhall’s family asked Tuesday that well-wishers not call him at the hospital or at his home, but send their regards instead by calling his office at 449-2121.