City Manager Márquez Retires

In a statement on Monday, the City announced that City Manager Miguel Márquez will retire so he can focus on family during a time of significant personal need.

“Serving the people of Pasadena has been one of the greatest honors of my career,” said Márquez. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and I’m grateful for the trust and support of the City Council, our dedicated staff, and this remarkable community. In light of my father’s recent passing, my family needs me at this time, and I need to be there for them. I leave knowing the City is fiscally stable, in good hands, and is on a solid path forward.”

Márquez is expected to continue to serve as City Manager until a new City Manager is appointed.

Miguel Márquez became Pasadena’s city manager in 2022.

At that point, the city was still recovering from the pandemic’s effects and wrestling with urgent issues ranging from housing affordability to public safety.

Márquez hit the ground running, and began the difficult task of hiring a new police chief.

In the three years since, Márquez has navigated billion-dollar budgets, ambitious housing reforms, and led the City through immigration raids, rent control and the devastating Eaton Fire with a calm, methodical style.

His tenure has been marked by what one city staffer called “steady professionalism under fire,” as well as by persistent tension with residents skeptical of City Hall’s direction.

“While Miguel’s departure is a significant loss for our City, we fully support his decision to prioritize his family,” said Mayor Victor Gordo. “We are deeply grateful for his service and the example he has set of selfless, principled leadership.”

In a City statement, officials pointed to several of Márquez’s accomplishments, including:

• Fiscal stability during uncertain times, with a balanced budget each year and financial reserves restored to pre-pandemic levels;
• Labor peace through long-term contracts with the City’s employee unions;
• Measures PL and L to support the retrofit and upgrade of the City’s historic Central Library, and to provide operational support for libraries citywide;
• Millions of dollars in investments to upgrade aging police and fire equipment to enhance the City’s public safety response efforts;
• Invested millions of dollars to improve the City’s streets
• Procured more than $1 billion in long-term contracts for carbon-free energy, keeping the City on pace to exceed the State’s carbon-neutral mandate at least 15 years early, and making significant progress (92%) on the City’s goal of 100% carbon-free energy by 2030; and Led the region’s response and recovery efforts following the devastating windstorm and Eaton Fire earlier this year.

Márquez previously served as both a California appellate justice and the Chief Operating Officer of Santa Clara County.

Yet from his first days in Pasadena, he downplayed his credentials and underscored humility.

“I need to listen, with humility, and learn what are the issues in this community,” he said in an early interview. He promised to avoid importing “out-of-town solutions” and to respect Pasadena’s distinct civic character.

The city’s council-manager system made him the chief administrator charged with carrying out policies set by the elected City Council.

Márquez readily embraced the structure.

“It’s the City Manager’s role to implement the Council and Mayor’s policies… let’s find a path forward that brings it all together to build the kind of society we’d like to see.”

Those who work with Márquez describe him as even-keeled, collaborative, and intensely focused on data-driven policy.

Colleagues often note his fascination with the city’s charter and operations, calling him a “government nerd” who digs deep into every issue, from zoning rules to capital budgets.

He credits Pasadena’s nearly 2,400 city employees and a “dedicated, experienced City Council” for sustaining civic progress, describing his leadership style as one rooted in teamwork and shared purpose.