City of San JoseLee Wilcox has been appointed Assistant City Manager by City Manager Jennifer Maguire, effective September 20, 2021. Wilcox will leave his post as Deputy City Manager to assume the second-in-command position of the City administration.

“Lee is a collaborative leader with over 16 years of experience in the City of San José. He is talented in bringing stakeholders together to solve complicated issues,” said Jennifer Maguire, City Manager. “I know we can count on his deep commitment to the well-being of our San José community and our City organization to help us ensure we have a strong service delivery system for our community and a focused COVID-19 pandemic recovery effort with and for our residents and businesses.”

“Lee is an exceptionally dedicated public servant with a singular focus to make our community a better place, which he has demonstrated over his years of public service,” said San José Mayor Sam Liccardo. “San José will undoubtedly continue to benefit from his collaborative spirit, the quality of his work, and his genuine passion as he moves into his new role as Assistant City Manager.”

Wilcox fills the vacancy left by Maguire when she became City Manager earlier this month.

The Assistant City Manager functions as the Chief Operating Officer for the City, ensuring the effective delivery of services through 14 departments and 8 offices. The Assistant City Manager ensures that departments are working proactively toward their performance goals and collaborating across the organization, guides strategic direction, and helps anticipate and resolve complex issues.

“Cities face enormous challenges but hold great opportunity for improving lives,” explains Wilcox. “I am honored and committed to working with our great community and amazing workforce to collaboratively solve our most pressing issues and continue to create equitable solutions for our San José community.”

Wilcox has a range of experience and holds strong partnerships in the community and within the organization. In his most recent role as Deputy City Manager, he assisted the City Manager through the coordination and engagement of several departments to carry out City Council policy direction and ensure service delivery goals. Wilcox’s portfolio consisted of the environmental and utility services and transportation and aviation city service areas, which include the Community Energy, Environmental Services, Airport, and Transportation departments. For the past 18 months, he has simultaneously served as Co-Director of the City’s Emergency Operations Center.

Previously, Wilcox was the Director of the City Manager’s Office of Administration, Policy, and Intergovernmental Relations as well as the City Manager’s Chief of Staff. Before these roles, Wilcox spent time as the Budget Director for the Mayor’s Office, as an Assistant to the City Manager or Senior Executive Analyst in the City Manager’s Office of Economic Development working on downtown issues, and began his City Hall career as the Chief of Staff for the Office of former Councilmember Nancy Pyle. Wilcox also spent time in Sacramento serving as a Legislative Aide.

Born and raised in San José, Wilcox holds a Master of Public Administration in public policy and administration in local government from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Sonoma State University. He also holds a certificate in local government management and leadership from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.

About the City of San José
With more than one million residents, San José is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States and is Northern California’s largest city and the 10th largest city in the nation. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center has resulted in one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world. In 2011, the City adopted Envision San José 2040, a long-term growth plan that sets forth a vision and a comprehensive road map to guide the City’s anticipated growth through the year 2040.