Houston City Council members voted unanimously Nov. 20 to hire Randall Macchi as the Director of Houston Public Works, despite being the city’s first non-engineer in the role.
Council members Abbie Kamin, Tiffany Thomas, Joaquin Martinez and Mario Castillo were absent from the vote.
How it happened
Houston Mayor John Whitmire originally requested the appointment of Macchi to serve as the executive director of Houston Public Works in early November.
However, the city’s code of ordinance previously required the executive officer to be a registered professional engineer in Texas.
The ordinance now reads: “The director shall either:
- Be a professional engineer, registered as such in Texas
- Have at least five years of full-time experience in an executive position in public service administration or business administration with accountability for management of complex business or service line performance and growth
- Have an equivalent combination of training, education and experience sufficient to provide leadership and perform duties of the office
A clause was also added that if the director is not an engineer, any duties required to be performed by a professional engineer will now be performed by the city engineer.
About the candidate
Macchi served most recently as Chief Operating Officer of Houston Public Works, a position he held since 2023.
According to the agenda item, Houston Public Works is the largest American Public Works department accredited by the American Public Works Association and includes a workforce of approximately 4,200 employees, with an annual budget of $2.7 billion.
The COO position involves overseeing the city’s critical infrastructure, including transportation, drainage, water systems, permitting and customer account services.
According to Macchi’s LinkedIn profile, he also served as a part-time adjunct professor of law at the University of Houston, and was a former CEO of Confident Leadership Coaching and U.S. LawShield.
Macchi will serve as the first executive director for Public Works that is not an engineer by trade.
“The direction of efficient city government has been to put the best person in the position who can make a difference,” Whitmire said. “I’m excited that we are changing this ordinance because Randy has been fixing things right before my eyes.”
What they’re saying
In a roll call vote Nov. 20, all present City Council members voted in favor of the ordinance change and Macchi’s appointment.
Many ushered personal thanks and acknowledgement.
“Since you came on board, you’ve done nothing but be first class with our office,” council member Edward Pollard said. “Very responsive. Very engaging. I’m looking forward to your leadership.”
Assistant Mayor Pro-Tem Amy Peck acknowledged that Macchi was a great pick for the city.
“I’m excited for you and I’m excited for our city as well,” she said to Macchi. “Infrastructure is one of the most important things that we do here at the city and I know that the department is going to go in a great direction under your leadership.”
One more thing
Whtimire said the department will also bring on a new city engineer, O.J. McFoy. McFoy is a civil engineer from Buffalo, New York.
According to the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, McFoy is a licensed professional engineer with over 20 years of executive leadership, program management and infrastructure design.
