Fremont Selects Mark Danaj As New City Manager

FREMONT, CA — Fremont residents didn't have to wait long to find out who their next City Manager will be. Mark Danaj, former Assistant City Manager/ Chief Operating Officer for the City of Fremont, has been selected as Fremont’s eighth City Manager. He left here in 2014 to take the job of City Manager in Manhattan Beach. Danaj replaces Fred Diaz who retired last Friday.

Danaj has over 20 years of senior-government management experience. His departure from Manhattan beach was involuntary - he was fired without cause at the beginning of the year, according to the Manhattan Beach Reporter. Manhattan Beach is a city in turmoil with the city manager, police chief and fire chief all departing in a short period of time.

“Mark is an exceptional choice for our next City Manager,” said Mayor Lily Mei. “The City Council was looking for a leader with vision and experience but also for someone that understands Fremont’s unique challenges,
opportunities, and culture. With Mark, we get the best of all worlds; great experience from other agencies and
keen insights gained from his more than three years of previous service to our City.”

According to a city news release, Danaj’s passion for city management revolves around modernizing local government, making it more accessible to residents, and fostering authentic civic engagement. He served as the Strategic Support City Service Area Team Lead/Director of Human Resources for the City of San Jose for eight years before being hired as the City of Fremont’s Assistant City Manager/COO in 2011. During his first tenure with the City of Fremont, Danaj led a strategic fiscal sustainability strategy to address longstanding structural budget deficits while also playing a key role in the City’s many urban development initiatives. He also led Fremont’s civic engagement efforts and championed an online citizen engagement platform.

Since leaving Manhattan Beach earlier this year, Danaj has been a special advisor with the public sector consulting firm Management Partners, Inc.

Danaj holds a Bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Marquette University, a Master’s in business administration from the University of Notre Dame Mendoza School of Business, and is a graduate of Harvard University Kennedy School’s Program for Senior Executives in State & Local Government. He is also a Credentialed Manager by the International City/County Manager Association.

Danaj is is expected to be officially hired at the next regularly scheduled City Council meeting on September 4, 2018 and will begin work on Monday, September 10. His role as City Manager will make Danaj the chief executive of this city with 936 full time employees, a budget of $330 million, and a robust slate of ongoing initiatives.

With 235,000 residents, the City of Fremont is the sixteenth largest in the state and the fourth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, known for its ethnic and cultural richness, nationally-recognized high-ranking public schools, numerous well-kept parks, and preserved hillside landscapes and Mission San José (California's 14th mission). In addition, its Silicon Valley location is marked by a broad variety of innovative firms including over 1,200 high tech, life science, and clean technology firms.

Read more about Mark Danaj's departure in the Manhattan Beach Reporter.

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