On Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the Glendale City Council appointed John Takhtalian as the assistant city manager.
John Takhtalian has been with the City of Glendale since 2002, where he started as an administrative assistant in the city manager’s office. John was promoted to administrative associate, then analyst and in 2007 became the assistant to the city manager. For the last 10 years, John has served as the deputy city manager, where he has managed various special projects, served as a key leader in developing and implementing strategies to keep the City operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, led the Blue Ribbon Pension Review Committee and negotiated several labor agreements with employee unions. John has also assisted in carrying out the directives of the Glendale City Council, provided high-level staff support to elected officials, and served as a liaison with various intergovernmental agencies.
City Manager Roubik Golanian said, “John is an integral part of the Glendale team and has always been ready to take on additional responsibilities to support our organization and our community. I look forward to continuing to work with him as he assumes the role of assistant city manager.”
John has helped the organization through multiple transitional periods by serving several interim and acting roles, including interim chief information officer, acting general manager of Glendale Water & Power, interim integrated waste administrator, and interim director of the Community Development Department.
“John has come up through this organization and knows it inside and out. He has a deep commitment to the city- its residents and the people who run it and make it the great city that it is. I have no doubt that he will succeed in his new role,” said Mayor Ardy Kassakhian.
John firmly believes that the lasting relationships developed with residents and colleagues alike have played a fundamental role in his ability to effectively serve the community. This exposure has given him an enormous level of respect for every community member’s contribution to the overall success of the City of Glendale. John holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Public Administration from California State University, Northridge.