{"id":404847,"date":"2026-07-20T01:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T01:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/404847\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T01:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T01:48:14","slug":"california-city-manager-arrested-just-three-weeks-after-taking-over-top-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/404847\/","title":{"rendered":"California city manager arrested just three weeks after taking over top job"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sausalito\u2019s new city manager was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of felony burglary after Marin County<\/a> sheriff\u2019s deputies responding to a noise complaint found her aboard a yacht that authorities say belonged to someone else.<\/p>\n

Elaine Forbes told deputies she was having \u201ca bad morning\u201d and insisted they leave what she claimed was her boat, the Marin Independent Journal reported.<\/p>\n

Forbes, 53, was taken into custody less than three weeks after starting as Sausalito\u2019s top administrative official.<\/p>\n

Elaine Forbes, who had been on the job for less than three weeks, was taken into custody by Marin County sheriff\u2019s deputies on Humboldt Avenue near Johnson Street.<\/p>\n

The arrest came two days after the Sausalito City Council placed her on administrative leave following a closed-session meeting.<\/p>\n

Deputies responded to the Sausalito Yacht<\/a> Harbor shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday, where they said Forbes was found aboard a vessel she did not have permission to board.<\/p>\n

Forbes told deputies she was having \u201ca bad morning\u201d and insisted they leave what she claimed was her boat. Google Maps<\/p>\n

According to the Marin County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Forbes initially told deputies the yacht belonged to her. Investigators later contacted the vessel\u2019s owner, who said Forbes was not authorized to be aboard.<\/p>\n

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Forbes was booked into the Marin County Jail on suspicion of felony burglary<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Bail was set at $50,000.<\/p>\n

Authorities have not released additional details about the alleged burglary or explained why the City Council placed Forbes on leave Thursday.<\/p>\n

In a statement following the arrest, the City of Sausalito called it \u201ca difficult development for our City staff and our community\u201d and said it would not comment further while the investigation remains active.<\/p>\n

Bail was set at $50,000. Linkedin<\/p>\n

The City Council is expected to address the matter at its regular meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Forbes was appointed Sausalito\u2019s city manager in May after announcing in September that she would step down as executive director of the Port of San Francisco<\/a>, where she served for nine years.<\/p>\n

She became Port director in 2016 after serving as interim director and was, at the time, one of the few women in the country leading a major US port. <\/p>\n

During her tenure, she oversaw a staff of about 270 and managed major waterfront initiatives, including seawall reinforcement and planning efforts related to sea-level rise along the Embarcadero<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In her final year at the Port, Forbes was a public face of the Fisherman\u2019s Wharf<\/a> Forward initiative, which proposed replacing the shuttered Alioto\u2019s Restaurant building with a public plaza overlooking the wharf\u2019s fishing fleet.<\/p>\n

The City Council is expected to address the matter at its regular meeting Tuesday. Google Maps<\/p>\n

She was hired as Sausalito\u2019s city manager at an annual salary of $275,000. Linkedin<\/p>\n

Before leading the Port, Forbes served as its chief financial officer and deputy director for finance and administration.<\/p>\n

She previously held public-sector roles in San Francisco and Oakland, including serving as finance director for the San Francisco Planning Department, and worked in nonprofit land-use and economic-development organizations.<\/p>\n

She began her role as Sausalito city manager on July 1 with an annual salary of $275,000.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Forbes told The Post that she \u201chas devoted much of her life to public service and is widely respected by the many people who have worked with her over the years.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cElaine is experiencing a mental health crisis. As the facts become clearer and Elaine obtains legal and healthcare counsel in the coming hours and days, we hope people will respond with compassion, patience and respect for her and her family during an extraordinarily difficult time,\u201d the spokesperson added. <\/p>\n

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