Hawkesworth Joins Panel at First City Manager Innovation Summit, Held in Pasadena

Interim City Manager Matthew E. Hawkesworth represented Pasadena throughout the inaugural City Manager Innovation Summit, held Sept. 16 and 17 at the Westin Pasadena, 191 N. Los Robles Ave.

The invitation-only event, hosted by Governing, a U.S. publication and media organization covering state and local government, in collaboration with the Center for Digital Government, brought city managers and members of their executive leadership teams from across the country, the city said.

Participants examined how AI and data-driven systems and emerging digital tools can improve service delivery amid financial pressures, workforce shifts and rising expectations from residents, according to the city, which said hosting the summit placed Pasadena in the national spotlight.

Hawkesworth took part in the opening welcome and sat on a panel titled “Redesigning How We Work, Show Results, and Demonstrate Care” with Chula Vista City Manager Tiffany Allen and Durham, North Carolina, City Manager Bo Ferguson, moderated by Center for Digital Government Executive Director Rob Lloyd, according to the organizers.

Rochelle Haynes of Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities was scheduled to give the keynote, and the speaker roster included City Managers T.C. Broadnax of Austin, Kimberly Bizor Tolbert of Dallas and Marcus D. Jones of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Other sessions included “Recasting a City for a New Fiscal Reality,” which organizers framed around diminishing federal dollars and spent ARPA balances, and “Values-Based Approaches to Use of AI, Drones, and Surveillance Technologies.”

The summit is the in-person meeting of the City Manager Innovation Council, a year-long program Governing and the Center for Digital Government launched in March, with four virtual meetings and a thought leadership paper to be published on https://www.governing.com, the organizers said.

A limited number of council partner seats are open to private-sector companies, and summit sponsorship was restricted to those partners, which included Accela, Granicus, Samsara and Threefold AI. Both organizations are divisions of e.Republic.

“Cities are where the future of government is being built,” Teri Takai, chief programs officer of the Center for Digital Government, said when the council launched. The council’s next virtual session, on 311 service, is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Hawkesworth has led the city on an interim basis since April, when Miguel Márquez left the post. Riverside City Manager Mike Futrell accepted the Pasadena job in April with a May start, then withdrew. “Interim City Manager Matthew Hawkesworth will continue to serve in his current role,” the City Council said in a statement at the time.

The council has since relaunched a nationwide search for a new City Manager through The Byers Group, with interviews expected in late October and early November. The job, advertised at $380,000 to $425,000 a year, oversees a budget of about $1.5 billion, 15 departments, and about 2,200 employees.