Four people that were part of the all-new senior management team at Manteca City Hall are no longer with the city.

They were fired following a clean sweep of all previous people in key positions completed in September.

The latest to depart is Director of Engineering Leigh Ann Sutton. She was hired by the city in July of 2020.

The in-house engineering department was created during the ensuing reorganization that started nine months after Ben Cantu’s 2018 election with the decision to put then City Manager Tim Ogden on paid administrative leave. The city and Ogden came to an agreement to part ways at the end of December 2019.

The idea behind creating an engineering division was to reduce the need to hire consultants, speed up the processing of road projects such as the proposed North Main Street plan to reduce traffic congestion as well as other municipal endeavors requiring engineering work. 

Existing qualified staff was moved from public works to the engineering division to do the work. Several times during council meetings in the past year when council was growing frustrated with the slow pace of the progress of various city projects, Sutton would state the city was struggling to hire qualified candidates.

Ken Jorgenson, who has been with the city for a number of years and has worked on numerous public works endeavors now in place, is currently the acting city engineer.

The others to depart that were part of a new team and approach that was sold as being more nimble, innovative and responsive to community needs are:

*John Tresidder, who served as city clerk for four months from mid-May to early October in 2020

*Lisa Blackmon, who served as deputy city manager for 11 months prior to being acting city manager for three  months.

*Miranda Lutzow, who served as acting, interim, or the “permanent” city manager for 17½ months after Ogden was placed on administrative leave in mid-September 2019.

Lutzow was in the city manager’s office when former Police Chief Jodie Estarziau, former Finance Director Jeri Tejeda, former Fire Chief Kyle Shipherd, and former Public Works Director Mark Houghton were either placed on paid administrative leave and then left the city’s employ like Ogden or else were abruptly removed. Others that left either retired or departed on their own accord to work in nearby cities that quickly hired them.

Lutzow abruptly resigned at the end of February to return to Canada. Blackmon departed three months later to take an assistant city manager’s post in El Paso, Texas.

Tressider in February 2016 replaced Lutzow as assistant city clerk in Merced.

Lutzow had been hired by Ogden as the city’s human resources director and was tapped by the 2018 council to act as acting city manager and then interim city manager. After she removed three department heads directly out the door or via paid administrative leave first, she was rewarded by being appointed permanent city manager.

Lutzow then elevated Blackmon from the position of city clerk to assistant city manager.

As of Monday, Manteca does not have a permanent fire chief, finance director, city manager, assistant city manager, community services director, or city engineer. That is about half of the senior management staff.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com