Palm Springs council names interim city manager as it looks for a permanent one

When Palm Springs City Manager Justin Clifton leaves that post in September, his No. 2 will take over the job temporarily.

Mayor Lisa Middleton announced during Thursday's city council meeting that Assistant City Manager Teresa Gallavan will take the top role on an interim basis. Clifton, who submitted his resignation last week, is set to work through Sept. 16.

"We're thrilled to have her step up into this role and encourage everyone to congratulate her," Middleton said. "We're very pleased to be able to make this appointment from within the city of Palm Springs."

Middleton said Gallavan and Clifton will jointly handle the job until Clifton leaves, including jointly managing the next city council meeting on Sept. 1.

History with Riverside County, other cities

Clifton hired Gallavan in October, and she started in the assistant role in mid-November.

She came to Palm Springs from Selma, a community of just under 25,000 outside Fresno, where she served as city manager from 2018 to 2021.

Her tenure came to an end when the Selma City Council voted 3-2 to remove Gallavanin a May 2021 closed session, according to The San Joaquin Valley Sun.

Clifton told The Desert Sun last year that he was aware of Gallavan's removal from her old position.

While he would not discuss it in detail, he said: "We had a pretty good discussion during our background vetting process on that and feel pretty good about the hire. What I can say for sure is that positions like the city manager position serve at the pleasure of council. Those are political environments that change frequently."

Prior to being hired in Selma, Gallavan had two stints as the interim city manager of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County. In Lompoc, Gallavan also served as economic development director and assistant city manager from 2011 to 2018.

Before that, Gallavan worked for the Riverside County Office of Economic Development for 15 years, the last seven as marketing and cultural services manager. The role includes overseeing county libraries and the Edward-Dean Museum and Gardens.

Palm Springs' announcement of Gallavan's hiring last year quoted her as saying she was thrilled to bring her background in economic development to the work of "promoting the iconic Palm Springs brand and destination."

City to hire search firm

Middleton also said during Thursday's meeting that the city council has tasked the human resources department with hiring a firm to find city manager candidates.

"We are open to hear from anyone who is interested in taking on one of the most demanding, exciting and challenging assignments in public service today," said Middleton.

She also added that the council will have the backs of city employees during the transition, which she said will not be easy.

"No one is going to change Palm Springs," she said. "It's always going to be a demanding place to be. We know that you expect the best of us, and we're going to do get up every morning and  try to deliver back to you what we promised we would do when we were running for office and that's put your interests first."

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs names interim city manager to replace Justin Clifton