August 12, 2009
Contact: Kathryn Vernez, Assistant to the City Manager for Community & Government Relations,
310‐458‐8301
Today P. Lamont Ewell announced his decision to resign at the end of the calendar year from his position as the City Manager of the City of Santa Monica. The early announcement provides City Council the opportunity to go through a nationwide search. Ewell has spent 34 years in public service and decided to end his career on the high note of serving the Santa Monica community. “It is with great satisfaction that I have been able to answer in my work life what I believe to be one of the highest callings: public service. I am grateful for all my years of service and especially proud to end my career serving one of the greatest cities in the nation. I want to thank the community and the highly talented City workforce for our exceptional partnership”.
Ewell was appointed Santa Monica City Manger in January 2006. He previously served as the City Manger for the City of San Diego. Ewell has experience not only in city management, but in the fire service, having begun his career as a firefighter in Compton and promoting through the ranks there and in Prince George’s County, Maryland, to become Fire Chief of Oakland, California, in 1991—just 13 days before the devastating Oakland Hills fire. He distinguished himself in managing that fire disaster and rebuilding the area and was later named Assistant City Manager of Oakland. In 1997, Ewell was named City Manager of the City of Durham, North Carolina, where he restructured government for improved service delivery to the public and helped jumpstart the Downtown renaissance currently underway. Recruited to San Diego in 2001, he was named Assistant City Manager. In 2004, he was appointed City Manager of San Diego.
His accomplishments in Santa Monica have included building strong relationships with residents, the business community and the City’s institutions. He effectively restructured city operations to improve the City’s ability to deliver high quality service. Further, he strengthened the City’s financial position and put in place a viable two year budget to allow the City to weather these unprecedented financial times. Almost $300 million worth of Redevelopment projects are now in progress to better the community. The path for completion of the MTBE water treatment is firmly set and creation of the implementation plans for the California Incline and Palisades Bluff stabilization are underway.
In leaving, he will have more time to focus attention on his family: wife Mary, daughter Jamila and son Justin and 3 young grandchildren with one more on the way. His “next adventure” will include working through a long list of travels that he and Mary have set their sights on over their 32 year marriage.
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