On June 24, 2020, after 54 years of dedicated service to the City of Torrance, City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson has announced that he will retire at the end of September 2020.
Jackson began his career with the City of Torrance in 1966 as a Personnel Analyst. After serving in various capacities on the City Manager’s staff, LeRoy was appointed to City Manager in 1983, becoming the fourth City Manager of Torrance. LeRoy serves as the CEO of a city with a population of nearly 150,000. As City Manager, he oversees 10 departments and has an employee base of over 2,000 with an annual operating budget that exceeds $320 million dollars.
Jackson is said to be one of the longest tenured City Manager in the State of California, if not the Country. As City Manager, he has governed the City of Torrance through several economic downturns including the early 1990’s dot.com recession and the Great Recession of 2008. He has served all 6 Mayors, dozens of City Council Members, and over 50 Department Heads.
“As a City Commissioner, a Councilmember and now as Mayor, I am honored to have worked alongside LeRoy,” said Torrance Mayor Patrick J. Furey. “He is a wealth of knowledge both historically and in the inner workings of city management. What he has accomplished for Torrance is immeasurable… you can see his influence everywhere in the City. His thoughtful leadership, fiscal foresight, and dynamic approach to city planning have helped groom our City’s strong executive staff.”
LeRoy is a native Californian. He has lived in Torrance since 1967. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach, with a degree in Political Science/Public Administration. He has a keen interest in American history, with a primary focus on the Civil War.
In a letter to City staff Jackson stated, “As I prepare for my retirement, I am pleased that I leave an organization which is led by a group of very capable department heads and managers, and that it has a compliment of City employees who are public servants truly committed to serving our residents and business community. I feel very confident in the future of the organization I leave.”