Alameda City Manager Making Move to Riverside

A longtime municipal manager from Alameda was named Riverside’s city manager this week.

John Russo, 56, was chosen by the Riverside City Council to fill the seat left vacant in December by the retirement of Scott Barber.

“John Russo really stood out among the many exceptional candidates who sought to lead our city’s more than 2,400 employees,” Mayor Rusty Bailey said. “His breadth of knowledge on the issues facing California, as well as his commitment to providing residents with a high degree of customer service, made him our top choice.”

Five candidates made it onto the short list of prospects for the position and were interviewed during closed-door meetings. The total number of applicants for the job was 41, according to city spokesman Phil Pitchford.

Russo is currently city manager of Alameda, a post he’s held since 2011. According to Riverside officials, he previously served 11 years as the city attorney of Oakland, where he also served as a councilman for five years.

Russo will be available for public introductions during the council’s 1 p.m. session Tuesday. He will not be leaving his Alameda post and starting his new duties until May 4.

He will be paid $295,000 a year, Pitchford said.

“Riverside has an excellent reputation around the state because of its ability to blend a reverence for its unique local history with an aggressive and groundbreaking public improvement program,” Russo said. “My family and I are looking forward to becoming part of such a vibrant and inclusive community.”

Bailey and other council members said they were impressed with Russo’s accomplishments, including his leadership in balancing Alameda’s budget and boosting the city’s reserves without drastic cuts to services.

“His track record in the public policy arena, combined with his success in the areas of economic development and finance, made him an outstanding choice,” said Councilman Jim Perry.

According to the city, Russo’s combined public and private sector employment spans nearly three decades.

Prior to relocating to California in the 1980s, the native New Yorker worked as a public service attorney in Missouri. Between 1987 and 2000, he worked as a private attorney in Oakland, where he was elected to the city council in 1995, two years before Gov. Jerry Brown was elected mayor there.

The Rocklin, California-based executive search firm Ralph Anderson & Associates provided assistance recommending candidates for the city manager position, according to Pitchford.

– By City News Service.

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