East Palo Alto Chooses New City Manager

Announcement from East Palo Alto:

The City Council has unanimously extended a conditional offer of employment as City Manager to Carlos Martinez.

Over the past 11 years, Martinez has served in a variety of management roles responsible for redevelopment, economic development and housing in the City of East Palo Alto. Since October 2014, he has served as interim City Manager pending the recruitment and selection of the next City Manager.

The Council anticipates making a formal appointment and approving an employment agreement with Martinez at its regular meeting on March 3, 2015. In the intervening weeks, the City will conduct a thorough background check and negotiate the terms of the agreement.

Mayor Gauthier has appointed a committee comprised of herself and Vice Mayor Donna Rutherford to represent the Council in the negotiations.

Martinez was selected after an extensive recruitment and evaluation process led by CPS HR, a public sector executive search firm out of Sacramento. Over 30 applications were reviewed by the City Council. A select group of the most qualified candidates was invited to interviews with the Council and were asked to meet with a 10 person Community Review Panel, whose input was valuable to the Council’s deliberations.

On Saturday, February 7, the Council met a second time with the top applicants, and decided unanimously to appoint Martinez.

Martinez has two Master’s Degrees from the University of California Berkeley: one in architecture and a separate Master’s in city planning. He has other city related experience working for the City of Hayward in economic development. He has also worked for a non-profit economic development corporation, a San Francisco City/County Supervisor and in the private sector as an architect and planner. He has also run his own small business.

Councilmembers praised Martinez’s commitment to the East Palo Alto community, and for his service as Interim City Manager. Mayor Gauthier said, “Carlos has demonstrated his passion for the East Palo Alto community. We are confident he will provide administrative leadership to the City staff as we work together to meet the needs of our community in a fiscally responsible manner. We expect Carlos to be a very effective advocate for East Palo Alto with employers, investors and other public agencies in the Bay Area.”