Long Beach To Appoint New City Manager Tomorrow

Just a day after the current Acting City Manager announced he was stepping down from the position, the City of Long Beach is poised to hire a new, permanent city manager.

The City Council will be holding a special meeting on Thursday night to appoint Donna Gayden as Long Beach's City Manager, which will be effective immediately.

The announcement comes just a day after John Mirando, the current acting city manager, announced that he would be stepping down from the post on March 9. The city has not had a permanent city manager since Jack Schnirman stepped down in January, 2018 to become the Nassau County Comptroller.

According to her bio on the Government Finance Officers Association website, Gayden has decades of experience in public management. Over the last 20 years, she has been the city administrator for the City of Fairburn, Georgia; the village manager for the Village of Hazel Crest, Illinois; the village administrator for the Village of Glenwood, Illinois; the interim finance director for the Village of Bradley, Illinois; and is currently the interim finance director for the City of Country Club Hills, Illinois.

She has a Master of Science degree in Tax Law from John Marshall Law School and a Master of Science degree in Accounting from Governors State University. She also has a certificate in senior executives in state and local government from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.