At its regular meeting on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, the Duarte City Council appointed current Public Safety Director Brian Villalobos as its new city manager. The City Council’s decision follows the appointment of current City Manager Daniel Jordan to city manager of the City of La Cañada Flintridge on May 15, 2023.
“In his 23 years of serving Duarte, Brian Villalobos has demonstrated the ability to build, cultivate, and support a culture of camaraderie and partnership, within the team and throughout the community,” stated Duarte Mayor Jody Schulz. “I am proud that he will serve Duarte as the city manager and know that his dedication to our residents, staff, and community will ensure that we are able to reach our city’s goals. He has built the public safety program and participated in the growth of our city for more than two decades, making him part of the fiber of our community. I am confident in his capacity to continue delivering for the residents of Duarte, as he always has, alas now from the City Manager’s Office. We congratulate him on his new role.”
As Duarte’s public safety services director for 17 years, Villalobos leveraged over $1.7 million in California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention (CalGRIP) grants and his background in gang management to address the community’s concerns of gang violence among youth. He emphasized gang reduction early on, helping create the Duarte Area Resource Team (DART) and A-Team, which to this day, brings together Duarte youth for leadership training, mentorship opportunities, field trips, college tours, anti-bullying guidance, and more.
The initiatives resulted in a decrease to nearly zero gang activity in the City of Duarte since 2019. Over the past 10 years, there has been over a 90% reduction in juvenile arrests. Under Villalobos’ leadership, the Public Safety Department also underwent a modernization, implementing web-based tools that took the City from paper to paperless for code enforcement and applications.
“I am honored to have contributed to Duarte’s evolution over the years, and to now have the opportunity as city manager to continue improving the quality of life for our residents,” Villalobos commented. “Duarte has been good to me since I started as a deputy in 2000 and I’ve made every effort to give back to this city. I am humbled by the City Council’s faith in me and look forward to bringing to fruition the goals they’ve set for the City.”
Villalobos’ first day as Duarte city manager will be June 1, 2023.