By Robert Haugh
In a big loss for Santa Clara, Manuel Pineda is jumping ship from the Mission City to become San Jose’s new Deputy City Manager. He’ll start on April 13, 2025, after a nationwide search led by City Manager Jennifer Maguire.
“Manuel’s 28 years of experience and proven ability to build relationships will be crucial as we compete for AI, manufacturing, and data center investments,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
Pineda’s no stranger to San Jose where he previously worked. According to one San Jose source, his experience with infrastructure is exactly what San Jose needs as it positions itself to grab the region’s top investments.
Santa Clara, meanwhile, is left scrambling.
Pineda was highly respected. During his Santa Clara tenure, he oversaw Public Works, Water and Sewer, Parks and Recreation, and most recently, ran Silicon Valley Power.
In that role, Pineda secured $1 billion in electric transmission projects and modernized the city’s energy infrastructure.
Pineda’s exit is a major blow to the City management who have seen a lot of major talent depart since the 49ers forced the firing of a City Manager and City Attorney in 2021.
It took a while to find their replacements who were not nearly as qualified or experienced. Currently, the City Manager Jovan Grogan is listed as the CEO of Silicon Valley Power. He has no municipal utility experience.
For San Jose, Pineda’s deep ties to the energy sector and experience managing large-scale infrastructure projects will give San Jose a real edge in attracting those big players.
Good Luck Mr. Pineda in your new position. San Jose appreciates and will use your talent.
Santa Clara has been struggling with city managment and leadership for a LONG time. We used to be a VISIONAIRY city, leading with creative and reasourceful solutions that have continued to provide benefits to and for its residents. Somewhere along the way we decided to recycle our council members and assigned top city staff positions to people that were not qualified to hold the positions due to connections and/or nepetisum. But this is what I grew up learning was the “Santa Clara Way” . . . Then I met Manuel.
When I first met Manuel Pineda in November 2017 I was sceptical of this “new” Assistant City Manager that all of a sudden was a part of a long term negotiations with a developer on a potential “land swap” deal to reclaim a section of Franklin S that would allow a connection through what once was our Downtown. The developer called me after they had met with Manuel for the first time and told me he was “tough” and had an alternative strategy than we (the community leadership leading the negotiation) had been discussing with them. The developer was not happy and told me the deal might not go through. (Scare tactic that we didn’t bite on)
I reached out and asked for a meeting with Manuel to hear from him directly and to gauge him as a assistant new city manager. I met with Manuel and listening to his ideas I realized immediately I was NOT dealing with another “Santa Clara Way” staff member, he was smart and most of all a “do-er”! His strategy and ideas ultimately were the best option for Santa Clara and with a little teamwork and trust between staff and residents, a little over a year and a half later council approved a deal that allowed the City of Santa Clara the ground rights to (*most) of Franklin St and all of Washington St once more. This would not have happened in the favorable outcome it did without Manuel.
Manuel’s time at Santa Clara has been too short and it is sad to see him leave. It will be a tremendous loss for the city long term but I am glad we got him for the time we did.
Thank you Manuel!! I appreciate everything you did for Santa Clara while with us. My exit request is to help build a better relationship with our neighbor San Jose, so we can plan and do more positive things for the South Bay. Good luck!!
The only good thing about Mr. Pineda leaving is he is out from under the thumb of Jovan Grogan. As much as this is a tremendous loss to Santa Clara and SVP which is considered a leader in public power, advancement and technology, San Jose will now thrive. Can’t wait to see when SJ gets its own public utility up and running. Thanks, Jovan!
Deanna Santana brought Manuel Pineda to Santa Clara from Sunnyvale in 2017 soon after she was hired as City Manager. From San Jose to Oakland, then Sunnyvale and Santa Clara, it’s no secret that nepotism and corruption have translocated with Santana and everyone around her. Prior to being hired as an Assistant City Manager, Pineda was employed in Sunnyvale’s Public Works Department for just under five years and worked at San Jose’s Department of Transportation for 12 years.
Pineda had a $171k salary as Sunnyvale’s Director of Public Works in 2017 and it jumped 86% to $319k when Santana brought him over that same year. In just six years with the City of Santa Clara, Pineda’s base salary ballooned another 25% to $401k which is an average of approximately an increase of 16.8% year over year since he arrived. Pineda’s time at the City of Santa Clara has proven to be personally and financially beneficial for a person who has no electrical infrastructure background.
San Jose’s press release didn’t reveal Pineda’s compensation but highlighted ‘networking skills’ with Mayor Matt Mahan stating “His proven relationship building and collaboration skills will be essential as he takes on the Deputy City Manager role, overseeing our utility- and infrastructure-centric City service areas.” Pineda is also quoted “Experience has taught me that the key to a high-functioning government and successful organization is to establish relationships with key leaders and decision-makers, within the organization and with the broader community. Open communication, trust, and respect are essential.” https://www.sanjoseca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/6525/4699
Two reasons why I think it was logical and smart for Pineda to move on…
1. Lisa Gillmor’s tenure on the City Council has been fraught with leadership toxicity and many of her cronies are starting to harass the two leaders Pineda needs to work with the most – the City Manager and City Attorney. It would be hard for a departmental manager in any organization to get anything meaningful accomplished in this politically disturbed environment.
2. Santa Clara is part of CalPERS; most of San Jose is not. Pineda can possibly draw a pension/salary combination in his new role, providing himself and his family with a much larger annual income than he would have had remaining in Santa Clara. Plus, he lives in the City of San Jose, so location and community engagement are other considerations.
Don’t worry about leadership at Silicon Valley Power. The Bay Area has no shortage of experienced leaders with a power infrastructure background, and with the amount of money Santa Clara keeps doling out, there will likely be no shortage of qualified applicants to fill the Chief Electric Utility Officer role. And lucky for them, Lisa Gillmor terms out in less than two years. San Jose’s Mayor Matt Mahan and the San Jose City Council appear to have a very good working relationship with City Manager, Jennifer Maguire. Best of luck to Manuel Pineda in San Jose!
Yes, you look at the council make up, the city ‘attorney’ and ‘city manager’ and it’s a wonder anyone is left.
Losing Mr. Pineda is a staggering loss for all of us in Santa Clara. Absolutely staggering. This mayor and the entire city council will never find somebody of his caliber. I agree he should have been appointed the City Manager as our current CM is over his head and in the bag for the 49ers on top of it. The City of San Jose scored a touchdown with their hiring of Mr. Pineda.
The Council should have appointed Mr. Pineda as City Manager after they abruptly fired Ms. Santana. He is far more qualified than Mr. Grogan who has substantial deficiencies when it comes to comprehending numbers and financial leverage. Mr. Grogan also appears to lack a backbone. The imbalance in management abilities was apparently too much for Mr. Pineda. Good luck back in San Jose, Manuel!