After 15 years of working in communications for the city of Monterey, Eric Palmer stays quick on his feet.

Eric Palmer, who worked his last day as a media specialist in Monterey’s communications department on Feb. 17 after 15 years with the city, was once a self-described scrawny kid. But at the same time, he was competitive with his fraternal twin brother, who was more muscular and athletic. The only way to compete, Palmer figured, was to start running.

“Anyone can be a runner,” Palmer says. “So I was like, ‘I’m just going to run lots of miles,’ so I transformed myself into an athlete.”

Palmer came to Monterey County in 2002 from Redondo Beach to attend CSU Monterey Bay on a partial cross-country scholarship. While touring campus, he wasn’t sure about moving here – the day was foggy, and the abandoned buildings on Fort Ord created a weird vibe – but, he says. “There was an allure to it.”

Palmer majored in film studies, and thought perhaps he’d go into broadcast journalism. But after he graduated, he saw a part-time position at the city of Monterey, which was looking for someone to diversify the video content on its public access channel. He landed the job, and launched a career.

As he worked other part-time jobs, Palmer’s role with the city continued to grow, and he became a full-time employee in 2012. He has since produced countless videos, newsletters, photos and social media posts. And because of the institutional knowledge he acquired in years of working with every city department, he also became the person to pick up the phone.

“When people called about anything – a tree removal permit, or a recreation program, or a car parked on the street for too long, suspicious activity in a park – I knew which staff member to connect them with,” he says.

Palmer has started on his next gig, as public education and outreach coordinator for the Monterey Regional Waste Management District, but he’ll likely continue doing other things he loves on the side, as he always has: making films and running. In 2020, Palmer released a short documentary about Japanese-American flower growers in the Salinas Valley (it’s searchable on YouTube) that inspired a former professor to make an exhibit at the CSUMB Salinas Center for Arts & Culture, highlighting the rich oral histories he unearthed.

And a few years before that, he also won some running races with a twist – pushing a stroller. Apparently, stroller races are a thing.

Weekly: So, what was the “allure” that brought you to CSUMB?

Palmer: I guess all the space. Coming from living in a suburb of Los Angeles, there are not many places you can go that are dark and open, you didn’t have much access to nature. You had the beach, that’s it. There’s so much light pollution you can go surfing at nighttime. I thought it’d be fun to go somewhere where it’s dark and you could be alone, and there are miles and miles of trails just right at the border of CSUMB. I really made the right choice. I loved living in Fort Ord.

You came into communications as social media started to explode. How has the profession changed?

When I started, the job was more of a spokesperson, and writing news releases to try and get a story in the newspaper or on a local broadcast. That’s still important… but that was the old model. More and more, government agencies are starting to create these positions to help tell their story, and you have to know how to do it digitally, in person, and in those traditional models.

Switching topics: running. Not long after graduating from CSUMB, you ran with Hartnell’s team?

I had a little mid-life crisis, so to speak. I thought maybe I didn’t see how good I can get. I reached out to Hartnell College – they’re the best distance runners in the state, their running program is amazing – so I reached out to [Coach Christopher Zepeda], asked if I could train with them as a sign-up for the community college class, and he said yes.

That’s when I got hooked on running. I got a second chance to take it seriously, and [Zepeda’s] methods are a lot more rigorous.

And then a few years ago you won stroller races with your son.

We ran three races, we were undefeated. We got second place overall in a 5K with other runners without a stroller – so the first-place guy didn’t have a stroller. It actually ended up destroying my back – it’s not normal to run 60 miles a week pushing a stroller.