{"id":519661,"date":"2026-11-05T18:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T18:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/519661\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T18:22:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T18:22:08","slug":"anaheim-could-have-a-new-city-manager-wrapping-up-a-nine-month-national-search-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/519661\/","title":{"rendered":"Anaheim could have a new city manager, wrapping up a nine-month national search \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

After nine months without a permanent City Manager, Anaheim<\/a> could have a new top administrative executive in a familiar face.<\/p>\n

The Anaheim City Council is expected to consider a proposed employment agreement with a city manager candidate, Jonathan Borrego, during its next City Council meeting on Nov. 10, the city announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe selection of Borrego as finalist follows a national recruitment, interview and evaluation process that took place from June through September with interest from more than 100 applicants,\u201d the announcement said.<\/p>\n

Borrego, Oceanside\u2019s current city manager, got his beginnings in public service in 1988 as an entry-level planner in Anaheim City Hall before being promoted to Planning Division manager, which oversees the city\u2019s municipal planning.<\/p>\n

He joined Oceanside as the city\u2019s director of development services in 2017, and in 2022, Borrego became the city\u2019s first Latino city manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cReturning to Anaheim would be an honor,\u201d Borrego said. \u201cI owe so much to this city. The \u2018Anaheim Way\u2019 philosophy of going above and beyond for those we serve was instilled in me during my nearly three decades there. It is a spirit of service I carry forward to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShould my appointment move forward, Anaheim can expect a steady transition, continuity of city services, sound budget management and responsible, effective city leadership for residents, businesses and visitors,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

If councilmembers agree Tuesday night, Borrego could begin the role on Dec. 28, the announcement said, and fill a vacancy left by Jim Vanderpool, who served as Anaheim\u2019s city manager for six years.<\/p>\n

Vanderpool announced he was retiring in February<\/a>, just days following his closed-door questioning by city leaders for having attended an Anaheim Chamber of Commerce-funded retreat to Lake Havasu early in his tenure without disclosing the trip as a gift in his 2020 statement of economic interests.<\/p>\n

Vanderpool is cooperating with an investigation by the state\u2019s Fair Political Practices Commission for potential violations of a state law requiring elected officials to report economic gifts and interests, according to reports by TimesOC.<\/p>\n

Vanderpool is currently serving as Palm Springs\u2019 interim City manager; he was appointed in October.<\/p>\n

Anaheim Assistant City Manager Greg Garcia has been serving as the interim city manager following Vanderpool\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

Borrego could be paid an annual salary of $409,000, plus other benefits provided to all executive managers, which is in line with the salary range for Anaheim\u2019s city manager position, the city statement said.<\/p>\n

Vanderpool was paid $386,000 annually.<\/p>\n

Borrego is a Santa Paula native with a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science and a master\u2019s degree in public administration from Cal State Long Beach.<\/p>\n

He holds certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile at Anaheim, Borrego played a leading role in modernizing zoning and planning for Beach Boulevard, the Platinum Triangle and The Anaheim Canyon. He also led a 2007 update of Anaheim\u2019s general plan, a long-term overview of how land is used in the city,\u201d the city announcement said.<\/p>\n

If appointed, Borrego would oversee 2,000 city staffers and the day-to-day operations of Orange County\u2019s most populous city, with more than 350,000 residents, and an annual budget of $2.6 billion.<\/p>\n

He would likely be leading the city through a busy period and weigh in on several critical next steps: there\u2019s how to spend a multi-million-dollar windfall that will be hitting Anaheim coffers in 2027 when the city pays off resort bonds; ensuring fluidity in several multi-billion-dollar developments rising around the city, including the DisneylandForward theme park expansion and OCVibe entertainment district; and next moves for Angel Stadium, including becoming acquainted with a likely new Angels\u2019 owner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After nine months without a permanent City Manager, Anaheim could have a new top administrative executive in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,179,1071,23,611,136],"class_list":["post-519661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-community","tag-local-government","tag-local-news","tag-orange-county","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}