Oakland, CA — Mayor Libby Schaaf today announced John Flores as the new interim
Oakland City Administrator. California State law prohibits the extension of the current
contract for interim City Administrator Henry Gardner, who was appointed in June 2014.
This appointment will be presented to the Oakland City Council for confirmation on
Tuesday, January 20, and pending Council confirmation, Mr. Flores will assume his new
duties on Wednesday, January 21.
Mayor Libby Schaaf and City staff are working to select a top-notch permanent City
Administrator. The search was officially closed last Friday, January 9th and the City has
received 58 outstanding applicants. Initial interviews will be held the first week of
February.
“I regret that the law prohibits us from having consistent leadership from Mr. Gardner
until the new permanent City Administrator is hired,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “But I
could not be more grateful that John Flores, an esteemed and experienced administrator, is
willing and able to serve the City in this capacity.”
“It has been an honor to serve Oakland as City Administrator,” said outgoing interim City
Administrator Henry Gardner. “But I know that my service to Oakland does not end here.
I am committed to supporting my city and supporting our new interim city Administrator,
John Flores, because I could not think of a more qualified or capable person for the job.”
“As a longtime Oaklander, I am proud to take on this role and energized about working
with the new administration,” said incoming Interim City Administrator John Flores. “I
bring a lifetime of public service, managerial experience and a deep respect for Oakland to
the City Administrator’s office, and am ready to hit the ground running.”
“Henry Gardner and John Flores are some of our finest public servants,” said Mayor Libby
Schaaf. “I want to thank Henry Gardner for his leadership, perseverance and ability to
move Oakland forward; his contributions to our city are endless. I appreciate that he will
continue to make himself available to support John and the Administration. I also look
forward to working with John and to what I am confident will be a seamless transition.”
John Flores brings over 30 years of administrative and managerial experience in municipal
government. As City Manager of the City of Emeryville for 19 years, he was prominent in
the long- and short-term planning of the city’s future and instrumental in the
redevelopment and cleanup of numerous toxic sites in that city. He was previously with
the city of Oakland for 11 years, serving in increasingly responsible administrative roles
leading to the position of Deputy City Manager. John has a masters degree in public
administration from Golden Gate University and an undergraduate degree in social science
from San Jose State University. John has been a proud Oakland resident for more than 40
years.
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