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Pleasanton City Manager Gerry Beaudin has been selected as the top candidate for the same position in his former city of Alameda, signaling the end of his tenure after four years leading the city administration in Pleasanton.
The Alameda City Council revealed Beaudin as its choice for city manager in a staff report released Thursday for the April 21 regular meeting, at which a proposed contract with Beaudin will be considered for approval. His employment agreement in Pleasanton requires 30 days’ notice, which could put his last day on the job during the third week of May.
“Alameda is an innovative, progressive, and welcoming community, and I am grateful for the opportunity to return as City Manager. The community is truly a place where everyone belongs, and Alameda shows limitless potential,” Beaudin said in a subsequent press release issued by that city.
He declined further comment when contacted by the Pleasanton Weekly late Thursday afternoon.
It wouldn’t be the first time Beaudin left Pleasanton for Alameda. He worked as Pleasanton’s community development director during 2015 to 2019 before taking a higher position that August in Alameda as assistant city manager. He held that second-in-command role for just over 2-1/2 years, returning to Pleasanton in spring 2022 as city manager.
This time around, Beaudin would be leaving for the opportunity to lead a city closer to Oakland, where he and his family live, and receive a pay bump of nearly $40,000.
Presuming Beaudin is hired in Alameda as recommended, the Pleasanton City Council would face a critical decision in the coming weeks on who will lead the City Manager’s Office in the short term after Beaudin’s departure and how to go about recruiting for a long-term successor.
Pleasanton Mayor Jack Balch offered no comment Thursday when asked for reaction to the news, citing the fact Alameda’s public process is still pending.
With no special meetings currently on the calendar, the Pleasanton council’s next regular session is scheduled for April 21, the same night Beaudin’s contract is up for final ratification in Alameda.
Balch and Councilmember Julie Testa were on the dais the last time Pleasanton faced a city manager vacancy – when Nelson Fialho retired in November 2021 after 17 years at the helm. The council at that time opted to elevate the assistant city manager to interim city manager for nearly six months while it conducted a full recruitment process that saw Beaudin rise to the top.
A key factor for Pleasanton leaders could be timing with the upcoming municipal election, when the mayor’s seat and two council positions will be on the ballot – and whether the permanent replacement would be chosen by the current council or by those on the dais after the November election.
Beaudin faced similar friction during his tenure in Pleasanton. He was ultimately hired in April 2022 by a City Council that would then see one seat turn over in that November’s election. Three more seats on the council changed hands, including Balch ascending to mayor, in 2024.
Beaudin found himself a poster child for public criticism during the lead up to that election, from residents advocating against the Measure PP sales tax while challenging the city administration’s budget projections of an ongoing deficit of more than $10 million per year.
The 0.5% sales tax fell at the polls in November 2024. A third-party review of city finances ordered by the new council in early 2025 backed the budget methodology and 10-year fiscal forecast from Beaudin’s team, but questioned how effectively the admin communicated information to the citizenry.
Months later, Beaudin would guide the city through a contentious budget cycle with millions in cuts for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with library reductions later endorsed by the council generating much of the public pushback. After approving the budget and wrapping up the accounting for 2024-25, Pleasanton reported an unexpected $7 million surplus, with staff citing mainly one-time development funds.
“There’s going to be people who are in the community wondering why we have a surplus and it’s really important to recognize that we budget conservatively and we do it on purpose so that we don’t have to draw in reserves at the end of the fiscal year,” Beaudin said in November. “We also want to proactively ensure that we have cashflow throughout the year.”
He also navigated prolonged negotiations with the police, fire and city employee unions, as well as tense public debates about water rate increases and about his own compensation, during his time as city manager.
Beaudin ushered in Pleasanton’s first-ever Citywide Strategic Plan, Water System Management Plan and Sewer System Management Plan, with a stormwater plan and an organizational assessment still in the queue. Longtime construction projects like Lions Wayside Park renovations and public infrastructure related to the new Costco store finished under Beaudin’s watch, and an overhaul of a major section of West Las Positas Boulevard is on tap this summer.
It remains to be seen whether Beaudin, the council and the Pleasanton community will discuss any potential cuts needed for the 2026-27 budget year during April and May, or if those conversations will happen after he leaves. A final decision is also pending from the council about whether to place a hotel tax increase measure on the ballot this November, a move Beaudin has backed.
Regionally, Beaudin’s title as the longest-tenured city manager in the Tri-Valley – with his fourth anniversary due on May 23 – is poised to be given to Marianna Burch in Livermore, if the Alameda vote goes as recommended.
Beaudin’s contract, with an annual salary of roughly $383,000, is listed near the top of the consent agenda for the Alameda City Council’s regular meeting April 21, with open session scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Alameda City Hall on Santa Clara Avenue. His first day of work would be June 30.
Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft said she and the council are “delighted to warmly welcome Gerry Beaudin back” into the fold.
“Gerry is an innovative manager and excellent communicator who brings a wealth of experience in complex land use and organizational projects, and a passion for public service, to Alameda,” she said in the press release. “He will be a valuable partner to the City Council and City staff, as well as to our residents, businesses, and visitors. We can’t wait to reintroduce new City Manager Gerry Beaudin to the Alameda community!”
The council had most recently discussed its city manager vacancy in closed session this Tuesday (April 7), later emerging by publicly reporting that direction was given by a 4-0-1 vote on the hiring of a permanent leader. Councilmember Tony Daysog abstained.
Beaudin’s name became public two days later, with the release of the council’s next agenda featuring his proposed employment agreement.
The contract includes an annual salary of $383,111, an amount that requires council approval to increase its city manager salary range by 1%. That pay rate is higher than the $343,512 Beaudin currently makes in Pleasanton.
He would receive an additional assurance that his salary would always be at least 5% above that of any member of Alameda’s executive management compensation plan.
Beaudin would also get a 12-month severance package if terminated without cause, $550 per month in car allowance, 3% in deferred compensation contribution by the city (just under $11,500 annually), and other benefits like health insurance, leave accruals and holiday pay, including the ability to cash out two weeks of vacation and eight administrative leave days per year.
“I am delighted to be selected by the Mayor and City Council and look forward to collaborating with City leadership, the City’s talented executive team and staff, and connecting with the broader community,” Beaudin said in the press release.
He would take the reins from Interim City Manager Adam Politzer, the former Sausalito city manager who has led Alameda on a temporary basis since Jennifer Ott left to return to Hayward in December.
Ott was city manager in Alameda for just under three years, starting in January 2023 as the permanent successor to Eric Levitt, who departed for Fullerton in Southern California. Beaudin, Ott’s former No. 2, was one of several staffers to serve as interim city manager in Alameda during 2022.
A native of Canada with degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Toronto, Beaudin also had prior professional experience with the cities of Toronto, Los Altos, South San Francisco and Mountain View.
