Trackdown Management’s City Manager newsletter: Volume No. 14: Issue No. 22
Regina Youngblood is a new Assistant City Manager in Hayward. She will be responsible for the City’s internal services functions, including the Finance, Information Technology, and Human Resources departments. Regina will join Assistant City Manager Jennifer Ott, who will continue to be responsible for the external functions. Regina most recently worked as the Director of Human Resources for the City of Durham, North Carolina. Both Regina and Jennifer join with City Manager Kelly McAdoo to form the core of the city’s executive team.
Michael Rogers has been chosen to serve as the City of Tracy’s 12th City Manager. Mike is currently the Deputy City Manager in Glenn Heights, Texas.
Retired City Manager Bob Adams has been serving as Interim City Manager since August. Retired Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell has bid farewell to his City Manager service with the city. He announced his retirement in September. He has been with the city for 33-years, where he began as an analyst with the Water and Power Department when he was 23-years old. He served as City Manager for five years.
Retired City Manager Cynthia Kurtz (1998-2008) will serve as Interim City Manager during the recruitment for a new City Manager. Cynthia is a past President of the City Managers Department of the League of California Cities.
Tamara Vides is the Interim City Manager following Watsonville City Manager Matt Huffaker’s resignation. Matt will be the new City Manager in the City of Santa Cruz. Tamara has served as the Watsonville Assistant City Manager since 2020, and the Deputy City Manager prior to that starting in 2018. She has worked as a member of the city staff for more than 20-years. Peckham & McKenney has been retained to help Watsonville recruit for its next City Manager.
Miles Slattery has served as the City Manager in the City of Eureka since December 2020. Miles first went to work for Eureka in March 2006 as a Project Manager. He worked as Deputy Public Works Director (2011-2013) and served as the Parks and Recreation Director starting in July 2013. Miles was hired as City Manager in December 2020. Prior to joining the Eureka city staff, Miles worked as a Chemist in San Diego for environmental monitoring and technical services (1998-2006). He earned a BS in fisheries biology from Humboldt State University.
After voting to dismiss City Manager Stefan Chatwin, 54, the Fairfield City Council began its search for a new City Manager. Assistant City Manager David Gassoway is serving as Interim City Manager. Stefan was hired as the Fairfield City Manager in 2019, prior to that he was the City Manager in the City of Imperial. David has been Assistant City Manager since March 2020. He previously served an abbreviated tenure as Solvang City Manager in 2019. Stefan served in the United States Air Force (1993-1999) and left the service as an officer. He worked as City Manager in Santaquin, Utah (2004-2008) and as City Administrator in Hayden, Idaho (2009-2015).
Yuba City is in the process of filling the City Manager position following City Manager Dave Vaughn announcement that his final workday would be December 10. Dave came to Yuba City last February following when City Manager Michael Rock left the city in March 2020. Public Works Director Diana Langley served as Interim City Manager until Dave was hired. The city is in the process of identifying a new Interim City Manager.
Lompoc City Manager Jim Throop is the new City Manager in the City of Cupertino. His first day on the job will be January 3, 2022. Jim has more than 23- years of local government experience. He was the Lompoc City Manager for the past three years. He previously worked as the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Oxnard, Director of Administrative Services for Paso Robles, and the Director of Budget and Research for Pinal County, Arizona. He earned a BA in economics and an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC).
Starting in January 2016, Lara Christensen began serving as the Deputy City Manager in Atascadero. Previously Lara work a little more than 10-years for the City of Chino Hills between October 2005 and January 2016. She served as the Assistant City Clerk her last four years there (2012- 2016). Lara earned a BA in communications from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctorate from SMU Dedman School of Law.
Fort Bragg City Manager Tabatha Miller has resigned from her position for “personal reasons.” She says that her resignation has nothing to do with the Skunk Railway issues. Tabatha joined the City as City Manager in March 2018. She practiced law for several years in Washington State. Tabatha is a former Administrative Services Director for Lake Havasu City, Arizona. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She earned a BS in accounting from Northern Arizona Unversity, Flagstaff, and a JD from Gonzaga University Law School in Spokane, Washington.
Hayward City Manager Kelly McAdoo has named Regina Youngblood Assistant City Manager to be responsible for internal services. Regina will join Assistant City Manager Jennifer Ott, who has responsibility for external functions. Regina has been serving as the Director of Human Resources for the City of Durham, North Carolina. Prior to Durham, she was the Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Operating Officer for the District of Columbia Youth and Rehabilitative Services Department. She worked for Dallas, Texas prior to that. Regina earned a BS from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and an MA from the University of Texas, Arlington.
Perri Storey is the new Communications Manager for the City of La Mesa. She will report to Assistant City Manager Carlo Tomaino. Perri previously served as the Director of Communications for the San Diego Fourth Councilmanic District beginning in January 2019. Prior to that she worked for the City of San Diego in various public information and community outreach position from 2009 to 2015.
SHORTS:
*Lisa Hughes of the City of Anaheim City Manager’s Office, who began her public service career in Bellflower, is retiring this month.
*Jeffry Allred is a former Rosemead and Norco City Manager and a former President/CEO for the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership (SGVEP).
*Merced County Executive Officer James Brown will retired in early 2022.
*While taking a stroll on Main Street in Seal Beach, retired City Manager Greg Korduner and his wife Karen “bumped” into former City Manager and HdL founder Robert Hinderliter walking his brother’s dog.
*Former Bellflower Mayor and Council Member Randy Bomgaars, who is a past President of the California Contract Cities Association, was a teacher with the Bellflower Unified School District for nearly 50- years starting in September 1972.
*Rosemary Menard, who has served as the Santa Cruz Water Director starting in January 2014, has served as the Interim City Manager with the retirement of Santa Cruz City Manager Martin Bernal.
*Dr. Ken Striplin, City Manager for the City of Santa Clarita, is the President of the Board of Trustees for the California City Management Foundation (CCMF).
*Karen Herrera, after retiring from the City of Duarte after working there for more than 23-years, is now an Independent Consultant.
*La Cañada Flintridge Assistant City Manager Carl Alameda, a past President of MMASC (2009-2010), since January 2018 has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) – Sol Price School of Public Policy.
*Cynthia Czerwin, who since August 2017 served as the Administrative Service Director in Watsonville, earned a BA from Illinois Wesleyan University and an MPP from the University of California, Berkeley.
*Peter Cosentini, Jeff Jones, and Ricardo Noguera were the final three in the Arvin City Manager City Manager position recruitment.
*Former City Manager Debbie Kurita is currently serving as the Interim Community Development Director for the City of Westminster.
*Denise Pennell, wife of retired Wasco City Manager and former Interim City Manager in McFarland, St. Helena and Fillmore Larry F. Pennell, celebrated a Happy Birthday on Monday, November 22, 2021.
*Lompoc Management Services Director Dean Albro is the new Lompoc City Manager.
*Greg Larson has concluded his service as the Cupertino Interim City Manager.