Sausalito, shown in 2020, has a new city manager.
Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle
Sausalito, that saltiest of salty Marin County cities, has a new city manager: Elaine Forbes, who stepped down as director of the Port of San Francisco last September after leading that agency for nearly a decade.
Forbes has already been selected and accepted the job. The City Council will formally vote on the appointment on May 5. She starts on July 1.
Forbes brings more than two decades of public-sector experience, including nine years as the San Francisco Port Director. Forbes spent some of her childhood in Marin, including in San Rafael, where she attended Bahia Vista Elementary and Davidson Middle School.
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“I am honored to be coming home to Marin,” Forbes said. “Sausalito is a place defined by its relationship to the water, its strong identity, and the deep care its residents bring to shaping its future.”
Elaine Forbes, former executive director at the Port of San Francisco and shown in 2023, will become Sausalito’s next city manager.
Constanza Hevia H./Special to The Chronicle
Forbes takes over in Sausalito at a time the city is going through a likely period of growth and transformation brought on by state housing mandates and the recent voter-approved Prop. J, which rezoned 16 acres along a commercial strip north of downtown for dense housing. The rezoning has already resulted in a proposed 294-unit apartment complex at 3 Harbor Dr., across from the Mollie Stone’s supermarket.
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The rezoning is aimed at satisfying the town’s state-mandated housing requirement of planning for 724 units by 2031. Sausalito permitted just 58 units in the eight-year Regional Housing Needs Allocation, or RHNA, cycle between 2015 and 2022. The town’s last significant housing development, the 22-unit Rotary Village, opened in 2004.
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The Sausalito City Manager is the City’s chief administrative officer, providing leadership and organizational direction for City operations.
As San Francisco’s Port Director from 2016 to December 2025, Forbes led a staff of 270 and oversaw a complex public enterprise responsible for waterfront infrastructure, maritime operations, real estate, public access and long-term stewardship of public assets.
She pushed major capital projects, including a $425 million resilience bond to address sea level rise and earthquake vulnerability.
In her final year as director, Forbes had been in the spotlight for the Fisherman’s Wharf Forward initiative, which includes a plan to tear down the old shuttered Alioto’s Restaurant and replace it with a public plaza overlooking the wharf’s fleet of fishing boats.
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Earlier in her career, she worked with nonprofit land use and economic development organizations, including the Urban Strategies Council and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Mills College.
“Elaine is a seasoned local government executive who knows Sausalito well and brings an extraordinary combination of experience, judgment, and leadership,” said Sausalito Mayor Steven Woodside. “We look forward to building on the City’s strong foundation and continuing to address the opportunities and challenges ahead.”
Forbes said she was “excited to get to work supporting (Sausalito’s) long-term fiscal sustainability, preparing for sea level rise, and building a strong organization that delivers exceptional service.”
Before her directorship, Forbes served as Deputy Director for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer at the Port of San Francisco. She also held key leadership roles in public agencies in Oakland and San Francisco, including Director of Finance at the San Francisco Planning Department.
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Information on what Forbes salary will be was not available at press time. The previous city manager, Chris Zapata, earned $244,555, with total compensation exceeding $300,000 when including bonuses and benefits. Zapata has accepted a position with Marin County as assistant county executive.