By Robert Haugh

City Communications Director Lenka Wright is taking a new job in Mountain View. She’ll be their Chief Communications Officer starting October 5.

Wright was hired in Santa Clara in September, 2018. Before that, she worked for the City of San Jose as an assistant communications director for almost six years.

We wish Wright the best of luck. We always found her to be professional and helpful.  She was reliable with requests for info or comment.

Wright  was also positive and friendly. Even though at times, we felt she was overwhelmed by the volume of public records act (PRA) requests or other duties.

Santa Clara gets way more PRAs than other comparable cities. That problem was highlighted in a Grand Jury report. But according to a city staff analysis, about 70 percent of requests come from the 49ers and related media sources, like the Weekly/SV Voice.

We hope the next communications director is prepared for some special political and media challenges. That’s the situation with the 49ers in the Mission City. It’s different from most cities. It can be a challenge for people used to regular city government jobs.