If the City of Long Beach were a company, the city manager would be its CEO — responsible for the daily administrative tasks, playing an influential role in negotiations with outside parties and presenting proposals to be considered by the “board of directors” — the City Council.
Long Beach has had seven city managers over the past 10 years. Four held the position temporarily — serving as interim managers for several months after resignations — and three served the city in a more permanent, contracted capacity.
Daniel Creighton, 55, a Long Beach resident for nearly 10 years, was hired as city manager in January 2024. He was offered a new contract after a unanimous City Council vote at the July 7 council meeting. Creighton’s two-year contract technically began on Jan. 3, and runs through Jan. 2, 2028.
The contract marks only the second time since 2020 that the city manager’s job has been held by someone hired by the City Council. Donna Gayden was most recently chosen for the position. When she suddenly resigned in January 2023, roughly halfway through a two-year contract — preceded by an earlier agreement for just over a year — then Police Commissioner Ronald Walsh filled the gap, serving dual roles until Creighton was hired.
“I’m so impressed with the work effort that Dan Creighton has brought to this office,” City Council President Brendan Finn said during Tuesday’s meeting. “The amount of work he’s done and the accomplishments he’s made, I think, are very laudable. I think it’s a contract that is well deserved.”
Reviewing his work since 2024, Creighton considers the decision not to raise taxes in his first year a major win for the city and its residents. More recently, he sees the successful contract negotiations with the Long Beach Professional Firefighters Association and the Uniformed Firefighters Association — which was also announced at Tuesday’s meeting — as another significant victory. Creighton explained that he was hands-on in the contract development process, which resulted in the firefighters’ first contract in 16 years.
Increasing beach revenue by more than 10 percent in 2025 and reducing overtime in the city’s service departments are more ways Creighton said he has worked to lower costs and residents’ taxes while increasing overall revenue.
The details and terms of Creighton’s new contract came under scrutiny at the meeting, with many residents saying they considered his compensation and benefits package excessive. Creighton will receive a first-year salary of $240,000, with an increase in his second year of either 2 percent or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers in the New York-New Jersey area, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of 5 percent.
Long Beach resident Eileen Hession spoke at the meeting, after distributing a handout to City Council members which juxtaposed Creighton’s salary with various officials from across the country. “He makes more than 48 out of 50 state governors,” Hession said. “[In] Great Neck, which has a similar population to us, the mayor makes $65,000. In Glen Cove, a similar population, he makes $100,000.”
Under a different City Council administration, Gayden’s contract in 2020 included a base annual salary of $203,000 — roughly $251,000 in today’s dollars, adjusted for inflation — with an additional $17,000 per year paid by the city into a 457(b) retirement plan. Finn explained that Creighton’s salary is reflective of his expertise, and is justified by the results he has produced.
His contract also includes lifelong health insurance, 25 vacation days, 15 sick leave days and five personal leave days. The insurance coverage for life, regardless of employment status with the city, was another point of contention raised by several residents at the meeting. Creighton’s past employment with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which offers lifetime benefits to longtime workers, was brought up as a potential alternative to coverage from the city.
“I get health benefits from MTA if I go back and retire from MTA,” Creighton said by way of clarification. “I would have to leave, rather than stay here.” He explained that the agency offers lifetime benefits for employees who reach 10 years of service, but when he resigned from his role as senior vice president and business unit leader, he was more than two years away from reaching the benchmark.
Creighton said he plans to find more ways to increase city revenue at minimal cost to residents, including an examination of sanitation charges, adjustments to ease parking congestion and a specific focus on bayfront development on the city’s north side.
“It’s literally a once-in-a-generation opportunity, but it’s got to be done right,” he said. “We’ve got to get public input. We’ve got to make sure we’re doing something that the public wants, but also that brings a real return to the city and keeps taxes down while helping develop the area.”