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The Tri-Valley’s longest-tenured city manager is set to hang up his hat at the end of the current fiscal year, marking the end of his 32nd year leading the town of Danville and a 40-year tenure in total with the town government.
Danville Town Manager Joe Calabrigo announced the news of his pending retirement at this week’s Town Council meeting, reflecting briefly on his time in the position and explaining the logic behind his departure.
“Time has gone by – as my wife likes to say, it’s ‘slowly gone by fast’ – and so now it’s time to move forward to whatever that next chapter is going to be for me,” Calabrigo told the Town Council during what now marks one of his final town manager’s reports. “And since starting a new chapter means finishing the last one, I will be retiring at the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.
“As you can tell, it’s a difficult decision, but I feel like I need to start that next adventure while there’s still anything left in the tank for me to be able to enjoy it with,” he continued.
Calabrigo told DanvilleSanRamon that among the many factors that had ultimately shaped his decision to retire was a growing family, with one grandson and more on the way, and a desire to travel more amid his child’s move to Europe.
Nonetheless, he said that he would continue to be based in Danville and to enjoy the town from the perspective of a regular citizen later this year.
“This is something I’ve given a lot of thought to, so I’m at peace with the decision, but boy – when you’ve been somewhere and done something for as long as I have, it will be an interesting transition,” Calabrigo said.
As the longest-tenured city manager in the Tri-Valley region by 29 years, the upcoming transition is also one that Danville has only faced a few times in its 40+ year history, with Calabrigo being the town’s third-ever manager.
In contrast, Gerry Beaudin is Pleasanton’s 10th city manager. Following Calabrigo’s departure, Beaudin will become the Tri-Valley’s longest-tenured city manager having started in May 2022, followed by Marianna Burch starting in Livermore the following month. San Ramon City Manager Steven Spedowfski was appointed in 2023, and Dublin City Manager Colleen Tribby was appointed in 2024.
Another factor that played into Calabrigo’s decision to retire, he said, was confidence that the Town Council would have the option of making that transition as seamless as possible, pointing to his confidence in the staff currently under his leadership.
“That, of course, is going to be a decision that the council has to make,” Calabrigo said. “I’ve been fortunate in that I had a lot of different opportunities and ways that I was able to grow within the organization before i was appointed to the position, and I think we’ve got some strong internal candidates that give the council the option of maintaining the organizational continuity, and hopefully that’s what they’re going to do.”
While the decision over Calabrigo’s successor does ultimately fall on the Town Council, that process will continue to be guided by Calabrigo over the coming months prior to his departure. He said he expected the council to begin discussions on next steps at their next meeting, noting that they’re unable to discuss it amongst themselves until then under the Brown Act.
Calabrigo noted at the recent council meeting that coming to the town staff as an early career planner in 1985 – just three years after Danville was incorporated – means that he has now worked with every council member (20 in total) ever elected in the town as well as those currently at the dais. As the town’s spokesperson Jenn Starnes noted in a press release Friday, Calabrigo’s career has also meant working with seven different police chiefs.
The longest of Calabrigo’s working relationships on the Town Council is with eight-term Councilmember and current Vice Mayor Newell Arnerich, who highlighted Calabrigo’s longtime dedication as central to the town’s first two decades of incorporation and its ongoing successes into the 21st century.
“You spent your entire adult life here,” Arnerich told Calabrigo at Tuesday’s council meeting. “And as you did start off as that young planner, it’s your planning background that made Danville what it is today.”
Meanwhile the Town Council’s newest addition – first-term Councilmember Mark Belotz – noted that Calabrigo’s dedication and expertise had not been lost on him during his brief time at the dais so far after being elected last year.
“Being the newbie on the council, unfortunately I haven’t been around long enough to get all of your wisdom, but I’ve gotten enough from the small time that I’ve been here,” Belotz said. “I can only say thank you, thank you, and thank you again for everything you’ve done for our town, and thank you for helping me out in just a few short months.”
While the news was bittersweet for Calabrigo and the Town Council, third-term Councilmember Robert Storer noted that Calabrigo’s work would be appreciated all the more in his final months on the job.
“I’m going to just cherish every moment that we have up here with you, and save all the things I want to say until then,” Storer said.
Calabrigo told DanvilleSanRamon that while the announcement had been hard, “it’s always best to leave before anyone thinks that you should.”
“I have lots of amazing experiences, amazing memories, many, many great friends, and I’m going to have all of that, and I’m to find a way to continue to stay engaged and connected in the community,” Calabrigo said.
