Fresno city manager informed mayor of departure in a letter. Here’s the note
Fresno City Manager Thomas Esqueda officially informed Mayor Jerry Dyer of his retirement and resignation in a letter Sunday night, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Bee.
Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer hired Esqueda as his city manager when he took office in 2021.
The retirement came after an alleged outburst earlier this month.
Three sources told The Bee that Esqueda hasn’t been seen at City Hall since the closed session of the Fresno City Council meeting on Jan. 13. During a discussion about the Fresno Police Officers Association contract, Esqueda reportedly became upset, yelled, cursed, and left the meeting and City Hall.
In his resignation letter, Esqueda made no mention of the reported incident on Jan. 13. In the letter, Esqueda told Dyer he was visiting his grandson in South Carolina and had a wonderful time celebrating his grandson’s birthday as a family. He wrote that he and his wife are eager to live closer to family.
He thanked Dyer for the opportunity to serve as city manager, calling it “the absolute pinnacle of my professional career” and “a dream come true.”
“My eight years in Fresno have been nothing short of amazing, and I will treasure my time here forever,” Esqueda wrote.
Before working for Dyer’s administration, Esqueda served as Fresno State’s first vice president for water and sustainability. Before that, he was Fresno’s public utilities director. He spearheaded the “Recharge Fresno” project that included completing a new surface water treatment plant.
The apparent outburst from Esqueda followed tensions over negotiating the police union’s contract. Earlier this month, the FPOA leadership by an 82% no vote rejected a proposed agreement from the city. Both Dyer and Police Chief Paco Balderrama expressed disappointment over the vote. In feedback to union leadership, officers expressed their discontent with the proposal and overall low morale.
Dyer addressed Esqueda’s resignation during a news conference Tuesday after The Bee broke the news.
Dyer praised Esqueda work ethic and called him a “dedicated public servant.”
“I don’t want anyone to think that Tommy’s departure is anything but a positive one for him, and he gets to spend time with family,” Dyer told reporters. “Certainly it’s a negative for me. I’ve got to transition a new city manager, which is difficult to do at times. Fortunately, we have somebody who was waiting in the wings.”
White named new city manager
Georgeanne White, an assistant city manager, will serve as city manager. White is a City Hall veteran. She previously served as chief of staff to former Mayors Alan Autry and Ashley Swearengin and as the director for public utilities.
“Georgeanne is a strong leader with an incredible amount of knowledge about every department in the city,” Dyer said in a news release. “She is a sound decision maker who is fiscally prudent and very experienced in organizational management, government affairs and public policy.”
Fresno City Council President Nelson Esparza thanked Esqueda for his service.
“Most days his car was the only one parked at City Hall before I would arrive early in the morning and often still there when I was leaving late,” Esparza said.
Turnover in the Dyer administration
Esqueda is the latest of multiple departures in the Dyer administration.
Earlier this month, Dyer’s Chief of Staff Tim Orman announced he is leaving his post at the end of January. Orman also served as the chief of staff for former Mayor Lee Brand.
Last year, Dyer also hired a new director for the Fresno Yosemite International Airport after longtime Director Kevin Meikle announced his retirement.
Dyer also hired a new, permanent director of Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services (PARCS) department last year after the former director, TJ Miller, transitioned to the personnel director, which also was vacated by the former director Jeff Cardell.
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 2:25 PM.