The City Administrator’s Office is pleased to share that work to reinforce the City’s leadership team continues with the transition of Oakland Public Works Director G. Harold Duffey to Assistant City Administrator, effective May 1.
Director Duffey joined the City as the director of OPW in July 2021, bringing robust experience in public service to the City of Oakland. He has since led OPW through numerous achievements and challenges. He served as Interim City Administrator for the first several weeks of Mayor Thao’s administration and steered the organization through the challenges of the ransomware attack that affected the City in February 2023.
In his new role as Assistant City Administrator, he will join the distinguished company of Assistant City Administrator LaTonda Simmons and Assistant City Administrator Betsy Lake. Duffey’s immediate assignments will include developing a horizontal-and-vertical capital improvement program to enhance the City’s capital project delivery, as well as encampment management operations – which is being realigned to focus more on infrastructure services. Assistant City Administrator Simmons will continue to hone the City’s strategies for delivering improved housing and homelessness outcomes and improved quality of life through programs and services including OPRYD, Human Services, the Oakland Public Library, and the City’s Information Technology Department. City Administrator Lake’s work will continue to drive economic development, code compliance, reimagining permitting implementation, and developing public-private partnerships. Collectively this will serve to strategically deliver on Mayor Thao’s vision for a clean, safe city.
As Director Duffey transitions out of OPW, the City will welcome Michael Kashiwagi as the Interim OPW Director to lead the department through the transitional period. Director Kashiwagi brings more than 45 years of municipal engineering and public administration experience in both the public and private sectors. His public sector experience includes 15 years with the City of Sacramento, including 8 years as Director of Public Works. He recently retired from Interwest Consulting Groups after serving as Executive Vice President/Chief Operations Officer for 19 years. He has also served as President of the Public Works Officers Department for the League of California Cities. Director Kashiwagi’s expertise on the enhancement to community quality of life is welcomed as OPW moves key policy initiatives (including strategic plans for OPW’s Storm Water, Sewer and Urban Forest programs) to the City Council. Also as a recognized leader in the State and American Public Works Association, Director Kashiwagi will provide knowledge and guidance to our OPW teams to ensure we are delivering service using latest industry best management practices.