As the La Jolla cityhood effort forges ahead, the group behind it has brought on an executive director to oversee its operations and “ensure forward progress and collaboration.”
Members of the The Association for the City of La Jolla have been working for nearly five years to have La Jolla detach from San Diego and become its own city. The proposed city of La Jolla would have about 38,000 residents over 14 square miles, largely aligning with the 92037 ZIP code. The boundaries would stretch north-south from Del Mar to Pacific Beach and east-west from Interstate 5 to the ocean, excluding UC San Diego.
Up to this point, the effort has been driven entirely by volunteers. But this month, the group established its first three paid staff positions. ACLJ president Diane Kane said this latest development is part of a long-term plan to carry the effort forward in a more organized way.
Volunteers for the Association for the City of La Jolla chat with Mira Mesa resident Shane O’Garro at La Jolla Town Council’s Multicultural Festival by the Sea last year. (Noah Lyons)
New board members
The ACLJ’s new executive director is third-generation Californian Paul Coogan, whose prior work experience includes serving as an IT consultant and project manager for Universal Studios Hollywood, Disney Consumer Products and Rady Children’s Hospital.
ACLJ wrote in a statement to supporters that the newly hired executive director “will ensure forward progress and collaboration between the cityhood processes, fundraising, events, supporting technologies, and most importantly, you.”
And although his position is new, Coogan has worked with the group on a pro-bono basis since March.
His involvement in community affairs began in 2020, when he “went down a land-use rabbit hole” during reviews of a since-rescinded proposal in Normal Heights that he thought was too dense for the area. He has since served as chair of the Normal Heights Community Planning Group; secretary of Normal Heights for Smart Growth, which is a 501(c)(3) focused on neighborhood-appropriate development and urban design; and secretary of the San Diego Community Planners Committee, which has representatives from all of San Diego’s community planning groups.
It was at a Community Planners Committee meeting that he first caught wind of La Jolla’s cityhood effort through a presentation Kane gave. Despite living outside of La Jolla, Coogan offered his expertise to the effort.
“My background is in project management,” Coogan said. “So I said, ‘Well, I can help you organize.’”
While not necessarily by design, Kane says Coogan’s outsider perspective serves the group well.
“It’s just the way it worked out, but I think it’s very helpful that he has his ear to the ground as to what’s going on in other parts of San Diego,” Kane said. “Because (as the effort progresses) we’re going to have to convince a majority of people from other parts of the city that La Jolla becoming its own city is a good idea.”
She added, “(Coogan is) a very talented administrator, highly tech savvy, very easy to get along with and experienced. We’re really fortunate to have him.”
When asked about his goals for the group moving forward, Coogan replied: “that is going to come from the community.”
Some of the feedback he has already received includes a need for bathroom maintenance, wildlife management, more effective street sweeping and better incorporating community voices being heard in land development conversations.
These concern reflect what Coogan says is general outrage towards city hall, making this the right time for La Jolla to pursue cityhood. But anger is not enough to drive the campaign forward. Instead, he says the group must exhibit leadership.
“That’s what this group is particularly good at, because they’re sensitive to the different factions within La Jolla,” Coogan said. “Bird Rock has different needs and attitudes than does La Jolla Shores, then does The Village. … There are political factions that will infight and have caused failure in the past. So we’re addressing that very aggressively to make sure that all of those communities are engaged and they’re all part of that decision.”
He continued, “Every project has their vested interest. Nobody comes to the table (saying) ‘I have no interest in anything that’s going on but I just want to participate.’ Everybody’s got something different and they’re going to fight for that. So it’s our job to take all of those ideas and make them into a cohesive plan where everybody wins.”
Coogan is joined by two additional staff members: director of donor relations Brian Rosario and events director Jacque Guilano.
Rosario is a strategic advisor, founder and principal of BNR Advisory Group who currently lives in Clairemont. Guilano is a former events and operations manager for T-Mobile who was born in San Diego and recently returned to La Jolla.
Next steps
Bringing on an executive director and new board members marks the latest development for ACLJ since announcing London Moeder Advisors, led by Gary London, was selected to conduct the comprehensive fiscal analysis on the financial impact of a La Jolla’s secession.
The selection committee consisted of representatives of ACLJ; San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, which provides guidance to communities seeking to become cities; the San Diego mayor’s office; the San Diego Municipal Employees Association and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
While currently underway, LAFCO said it expects the analysis to continue until June 2027, when the draft CFA would be given to the city of San Diego and made available for public view.
La Jolla resident and former San Diego city manager Jack McGrory, who now is ACLJ’s chief negotiator and strategic adviser, said in April that the CFA is “a tough study.”
“(The analysis) will have to go into the city budget, extract all the information for La Jolla … across all the city departments,” McGrory said.
Should LAFCO approve the comprehensive fiscal analysis, next steps include a ballot measure on La Jolla’s potential cityhood that would require a majority of voters both in La Jolla and the rest of San Diego. ACLJ has said it hopes to have the matter on the ballot in 2028.
An application was submitted in January 2025 to the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission by a group of La Jolla residents as part of an effort to turn La Jolla into its own city. (Association for the City of La Jolla)
ACLJ will host a community update and Q&A meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14 at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Learn more: cityoflajolla.org