The City of Long Beach announced today the upcoming retirement of Assistant City Manager Linda F. Tatum. She has served as Assistant city manager since June 2020 and previously served as Director of the City’s Development Services Department. Ms. Tatum’s career in the planning field was spent mostly in the public sector, serving in the Cities of Inglewood, Culver City and Santa Ana before joining the City of Long Beach in 2015.
“As assistant city manager, Linda has played an integral role in the operational and morale resiliency of our organization,” said City Manager Tom Modica. “She has led with compassion, dignity and inclusivity – she is a true public servant and dedicated leader. We are grateful for the influential impact she has made here in Long Beach and we wish her all the best as she begins an exciting new chapter of life in her retirement.”
As assistant city manager, Ms. Tatum supported the city manager and various functions within the Office of the City Manager, stepped in to perform duties of the city manager when needed, led several high priority City initiatives, and supported the diverse workforce within the Long Beach organization. Most notably, she managed the City’s $40 million CARES Act program which provided critical funding for the City’s COVID-19 response and to provide needed support to the communities most impacted by COVID-19, as well as business recovery and resiliency. Ms. Tatum led the City’s transition to a modern Police Oversight model when Long Beach voters approved Measure E to establish an independent Police Oversight Director working in collaboration with a Police Oversight Commission and close collaboration with the City Manager’s Office and Long Beach Police Department. In 2021, she also served as the City’s lead staff coordinating with the Federal government for its Emergency Intake Shelter, which was located at the Long Beach Convention Center, for unaccompanied migrant children. Ms. Tatum also played a key role in guiding the City’s groundbreaking Framework for Reconciliation, the racial equity and reconciliation plan developed and adopted in 2020, and has provided executive oversight and direction for implementation of this plan for the City Manager’s Office.
Prior to serving as assistant city manager, Ms. Tatum was the director of development services where she oversaw planning, building safety, code enforcement, housing and neighborhood services as well as the City’s nonprofit affiliate Long Beach Community Investment Corporation (LBCIC), which provides funding for affordable housing development in the community. She was influential in an extensive array of transformative citywide urban planning and development initiatives, including overseeing the unprecedented development in the Downtown waterfront; led efforts for the City’s Land Use Element and Urban Design Elements updates to guide the City’s physical development over the next 20 years; oversaw the planning, development and permitting of more than 1,000 affordable housing units and 5,500 market-rate housing across the city; supported the planning, entitlement and construction of the new Civic Center and entitlement of the private mid-block development, among other critical initiatives.
“Serving the City of Long Beach has been the highlight of my 30-plus-year career in public service. I am proud to have been a part of this organization and the incredible work and accomplishments of the City team, who unfailingly lead with dedication, compassion, and a desire to make life better for those who call Long Beach home. I will miss the spirit of comradery and service from my co-workers, and colleagues in the City and beyond as I transition to retirement,” said Tatum.
Ms. Tatum is an accomplished, nationally recognized leader in the planning field. She served on the Board of Directors for the California Planning Foundation (CFP) for more than 12 years, eight years as president, where she furthered CPF’s mission to provide scholarships for California students in planning programs throughout the State of California. She was awarded the APA California Chapter Distinguished Service Award in 2013. She continues to serve on the national Planning Accreditation Board, the California Planning Roundtable, Planners Emeritus Network, and recently completed service on the national APA Foundation Board of Directors. She was a 2015 Rose Fellow for Public Leadership in Land Use sponsored by Urban Land Institute and the National League of Cities. In 2018, she was inducted into the American Institute of Certified Planners Class of Fellows, the highest level of recognition bestowed to only a small number of planning leaders throughout the nation.
Ms. Tatum will serve until November 2023. The City’s Human Resources Department will conduct a recruitment to permanently fill the position, which is anticipated to be concluded before the end of the year.
About the City of Long Beach
Long Beach is nestled along the Southern California coast and home to approximately 466,000people. As an award-winning full-service charter city, Long Beach offers the amenities of a metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods, culture and community. With a bustling downtown and over six miles of scenic beaches, Long Beach is a renowned tourist and business destination and home to the iconic Queen Mary, nationally recognized Aquarium of the Pacific and Long Beach Airport, award-winning Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and world-class Port of Long Beach.
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