Search for New City Manager to Begin in the Coming Weeks
Tati Simonian, Public Information Officer, announced the following this afternoon via an email press release: Santa Monica City Manager David White announced Tuesday that he will leave his position in February 2025, concluding more than three years of service to the city.
White, who began his tenure in October 2021, collaborated with the City Council to establish and advance five key priorities: addressing homelessness, maintaining a clean and safe city, fostering economic growth and cultural vitality, promoting justice, equity, and diversity, and ensuring sustainable and connected infrastructure.
During his leadership, Santa Monica made strides in several critical areas:
- Strengthening public safety measures and enhancing efforts to address homelessness.
- Advancing sustainability initiatives and developing a multimodal transportation network.
- Adopting tax measures to sustain and expand city services.
- Approving zoning amendments that supported economic recovery, revitalized the hospitality sector, and brought new businesses and residential developments to the city, including enhancements to the Third Street Promenade.
- Initiating the long-term process to convert the Santa Monica Airport site.
“This is a bittersweet departure, and I am tremendously grateful to have had the opportunity to serve Santa Monica,” White said. “I’ll be working closely with the City Council and city leadership to ensure a smooth transition and am confident in the city’s bright future.”
White’s career includes extensive public service experience. Before joining Santa Monica, he served as deputy city manager in Berkeley, where he helped reimagine public safety and introduced a civilian oversight model for Berkeley’s Police Department. Previously, he was city manager of Fairfield, California, and finance director in the same city, after a career in investment banking.
White will return to Berkeley to take on the role of deputy city manager. The City of Santa Monica will announce details regarding the process to hire his successor in the coming weeks.
