Salinas City Council votes unanimously to fire city manager Steve Carrigan.

During a special meeting on Oct. 4, Salinas City Council voted  to terminate City Manager Steve Carrigan’s contract. The council deliberated for two hours in closed session, then announced their unanimous vote, 6-0, to fire Carrigan (Councilmember Steve McShane was absent).

The council also voted to appoint Assistant City Manager Jim Pia as interim city manager. Pia has worked for the city for 30 years and was the interim city manager after the previous city manager, Ray Corpuz, retired. The personnel transitions are effective immediately.

“We don't anticipate any disruption whatsoever in city resources, or city services.[The] city will move forward. We're prepared for it,” Mayor Kimbley Craig says.

Carrigan was hired in 2021 and was selected from 78 candidates. His salary was $235,000 annually. City records show Carrigan’s latest evaluation took place one week prior, on Sept. 26, in closed session during a regular council meeting.

Since Carrigan was terminated, he will receive a one-year salary, per the terms of his contract.

In the weeks prior to council's vote, Carrigan announced he was a finalist for the job of city manager in San Bernardino. He followed up on Sept. 28 with an email to Salinas city employees indicating he was withdrawing from that process, and intended to stay in Salinas.

“I cannot see myself working anywhere else,” Carrigan said.

Nonetheless, according to a blog post on the website San Bernardino County Sentinel, Carrigan was the top candidate at the city of San Bernardino and was set to be hired on Oct. 4. (San Bernardino City Council is set to meet tonight, Oct. 4, at 5:30pm and the council's agenda includes appointing a city manager, but the prospective employee is not named on the publicly viewable agenda.) 

Carrigan cited several reasons for his change of mind about staying in Salinas, including his romantic life—he is currently dating Salinas City Elementary School District Superintendent Rebeca Andrade. He also pointed to progress the city has achieved under his leadership, including expanding affordable housing, advancing infrastructure projects and tackling the thorny challenge of homelessness.

Before Salinas City Council went into closed session on Tuesday night, members of the public weighed in both in support and against Carrigan.

“Steve Carrigan has done more for the city in two-and-half years than all city managers combined. I think you’ll make a great mistake in letting him go,” said Valentina Valdez, a 12-year Salinas resident.

Chris Barrera of the Salinas LULAC chapter (League of United Latin American Citizens) said Carrigan was an improvement compared to previous city managers but added that he believed Carrigan's performance worsened over time. “We need a city manager that has integrity, honest and has a great communications skills,” Barrera said. 

Prior to serving in Salinas, Carrigan was Merced’s City Manager. He was terminated fromthat position in July 2020.

Carrigan declined to speak about the termination, but shared his general plans.

"Salinas has been great to me, the people have been great to me, the city employees have been great to me," he says. "I love it here and want to stay here."

He plans to take a few months off, and then says early in 2024 he will look for a leadership role in the local nonprofit world.