The Pismo Beach City Council has announced the resignation of James R. Lewis as city manager following his appointment as city manager of Atascadero. Lewis has had a successful 10.5-year tenure as city manager, during which time the City has completed major capital projects, grown economically, built an employee culture based on service, and received several state and national awards.
Lewis will depart the City on June 30, 2023. Based on Lewis’ new appointment, the City Council met on May 10, 2023, to appoint an interim city manager and determined to move forward with a nationwide search for a new city manager, which is anticipated to take three to six months.
The City’s current assistant city manager, Jorge E. Garcia, has been appointed interim city manager effective May 27, 2023.
As interim city manager, Garcia will assume the full duties and responsibilities of the city manager. Lewis will transition projects underway and assist the City Council with the recruitment process through his departure date. Garcia will be eligible to participate in the recruitment process for the permanent city manager position.
Garcia has 15 years of municipal management experience serving multiple communities in California and has served the City of Pismo Beach since December 2018. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Chapman University, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from California State University, Fullerton. Garcia is active with the International City/County Management Association and is a former president of the Municipal Management Association of Southern California. He lives in Pismo Beach with his wife and two children.