Politics & Government

City of Pacifica to Appoint Lorie Tinfow as City Manager

Lorie Tinfow comes to Pacifica with more than 15 years experience working in local government.

On the Pacifica City Council meeting agenda for next week, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m., is the resolution of the City to appoint Lorie Tinfow as City Manager.

If the Pacifica council votes to approve her appointment and the final agreement between the City of Pacifica and Tinfow is signed by Mayor Len Stone, offering to pay her a salary of $180K with a monthly vehicle allowance in the amount of $553, benefits and a relocation allowance of $12K, Tinfow would begin her new position in October.

Tinfow comes to the position with degrees from Stanford and Harvard universities in applied earth science and city and regional planning. She has work experience as an assistant city manager for the City of Saratoga and most recently Walnut Creek, where she was responsible for creating and implementing a new economic development strategy, developing a 10-year long term financial plan adopted by the city council, and managing the construction of a new Walnut Creek library and parking garage that opened on schedule and under budget.

She was embroiled earlier this year in an investigation after allegations surfaced that she and other Walnut Creek city staff were "evasive and in some cases dishonest" in their answers to an internal investigator, who was hired by the city to detail in a report the actions of city workers in relation to a former employee accused of having inappropriate contact with a minor, according to a report on Walnut Creek Patch.

Four of her colleagues were suspended over the suspected reporting failures, but a new report concluded that they acted appropriately to protect minors by firing the employee with sexual allegations against him, according a Mercury News article. Tinfow was also exonerated from the case as the report revealed it was the city manager and human resources director who impeded the internal investigation by evading questions. In fact, it was Tinfow who informed the city manager about the inappropriate texting by an employee to a minor, the report says.

The Walnut Creek mayor Cindy Silva said in the Walnut Creek Patch article that the report erred in its conclusions regarding some senior staff and "makes broad and poorly substantiated conclusions regarding (city staff's) level of knowledge about or involvement in the handling of the allegation involving the part-time employee. ... I believe these employees are credible and dedicated to the safety and welfare of this community." 

In addition to her academic and work background accolades, Tinfow was an intern for the California Coastal Commission and worked for the City of Pleasanton as an administrative services director, responsible for managing three divisions: human resources, city clerk's office and central services plus a diverse portfolio of projects such as a solar energy program that would provide information to residents interested in installing photovoltaic panels. She's a board member of Continuing Education for Public Officials and has had multiple speaking engagements over the last three years at various local government conferences.

With much to do in Pacifica — from building a new library, passing the phone tax and balancing the budget and long-term revenue/expenditures, improving the San Pedro Bridge, and expanding the highway, Tinfow will have her work cut out for her.

Once the agreement is signed, Pacifica Patch will follow up with an interview with Tinfow to ask her the hard questions. But that comes from you, our readers.

What do you want to know from Pacifica's new city manager? Leave your questions for her here in the comments section below, and we'll do our best to get them answered by her for you.



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