Salinas City Council hired Steve Carrigan in a hard time for cities. It was January of 2021, deep in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic. Out of 78 applicants, he was unanimously selected.
That was even after his relationship with the Merced City Council, his previous employer where he served as city manager, soured amid disagreements over pandemic regulations.
Carrigan moved to Salinas eager to change the narrative in a city long plagued by a story about budget challenges, crime and a failure to thrive. He saw a different story available and despite the pandemic—or perhaps because of it, thanks in part to federal stimulus funds—he helped turn the narrative around in two-and-a-half years.
Carrigan even found love in Salinas, and is in a relationship with a local superintendent of schools.
But now, he's considering leaving the city of 163,000 for the top job in the City of San Bernardino, population 222,000.
Carrigan declined to comment for this story, noting that no contract with the City of San Bernardino has yet been publicly released. But in an email to Salinas department heads on Saturday, Aug. 26, he acknowledged that he may be leaving. "I am a finalist for the city manager job with the City of San Bernardino," he wrote. "When a decision is made, I will share it with each of you."
San Bernardino City Council met on Monday, Aug. 28 in a closed session to discussion the appointment of a city manager and conduct negotiations. There was no reportable action out of that meeting. A spokesperson for San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran declined to comment on the recruitment process noting that all discussions to date have been in closed session.
Salinas Mayor Kimbley Craig says she and her council colleagues and City staff are prepared for whatever the outcome of San Bernardino's process is.
"Personally, I'll never fault an individual for advancing their career," Craig says. "If hired, he has the opportunity to have a bigger salary in a bigger city that deals with the same issues we're grappling with here in Salinas. I think San Bernardino will find he's enthusiastic and capable, and they will benefit from that."
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You must fix the reason for mental illness. Also, many people that are labeled as being mentally ill are simply frustrated trying to deal with a system that spins them in circles. Homelessness will cause mental illness. Can you imagine what your mind set would be when you suddenly have no where to exist day after day of hopelessness? Everyone around you expects you to simple disappear? Then there is the "See Something Say Something" campaign. You saw the wrong something, you said something and now you are expected to un see it, live with it, and never speak of it again.
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