Vallejo assistant city managers will alternate in acting city manager role during recruitment process

VALLEJO – The city of Vallejo’s top staff position will rotate between Assistant City Managers Gillian Haen and Nalungo Conley every two weeks during a recruitment process for an interim city manager, the city announced Thursday.

Last week, City Manager Andrew Murray announced that he would leave the position later this month. He officially left as of Wednesday and the city announced the plan to alternate between Murray’s two assistants as acting city managers. Haen began her first two-week stretch as acting city manager on Thursday and Conley’s first two weeks will begin on May 2. 

The city initially said that the City Council opted to postpone the formal recruitment process for a permanent city manager until January, when new council members will take office following November’s election, but clarified on April 22 that it has not determined what the process for finding a permanent replacement will be. 

In the meantime, the city has initiated a recruitment process for an interim city manager, which is expected to take four to eight weeks. Haen and Conley will continue the alternating schedule until the interim position is filled, according to the statement.

When Murray was selected as Vallejo’s city manager two years ago, Haen was a close contender for the position. She was hired as the planning and development services director in 2019 and served as interim assistant city manager under former city managers Greg Nyhoff and Anne Cardwell. When Mike Malone became city manager, he promoted Haen to a permanent assistant city manager position in April 2022.

Haen has played key roles in a number of city projects over the years. She took over Vallejo’s disastrous Project Room Key program after a city housing manager failed to address maintenance concerns and five residents died. However, records show that a sixth resident perished before the program ended. 

Haen spearheaded planning and negotiations for the Costco Fairview development project and she worked to secure funding for the Broadway Street project. She was on medical leave for a serious illness when the project began to unravel, resulting in a $6 million bailout from the city. 

After Malone announced that he would retire from the city manager position in April 2024, then-Public Works Director Melissa Tigbao wrote a letter to the city council advocating for Haen’s advancement to the interim city manager role. Tigbao argued that internal hires improve morale and suggested that senior employees would leave without “stability and consistency.” Tigbao left for a position with the city of Pacifica just over a year later.   

Former city spokesperson Christina Lee did not share in Tigbao’s support of Haen. Lee left Vallejo for another position in June 2024 and she sued the city  in February 2025, alleging that she faced harassment and retaliation after she reported what she described as unethical and potentially illegal actions by Haen. 

The lawsuit alleged that Haen had ordered then-interim assistant to the city manager Natalie Peterson to delete text messages related to housing and homelessness in violation of the California Public Records Act. The suit also alleged that Haen ordered Peterson to submit falsely backdated records to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Conley, a resident of Vallejo since 2020, was hired in July 2025. She previously was director of administration and human development for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, where she worked for over six years. She also worked as a senior administrative analyst for San Francisco, where she was employed for over three years. She served in various roles at the city of Oakland for over seven years.

Conley was hired six months into President Donald Trump’s second term, as the new administration attacked diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Just days after she was hired, the Vallejo Times-Herald reported on controversial social media posts attributed to Conley that included blunt statements about white people and racism. 

The Vallejo branch of the NAACP criticized the reporting by the Times-Herald and called for an apology from the newspaper.

During the 10 months that Conley has been assistant city manager, she has advanced a number of city projects, such as opening a warming center from January to March at the city’s navigation center. She also worked on arrangements with the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm the Roosevelt Group to produce the city’s recently released Strategic Plan for Maritime Revitalization.

In Haen’s announcement Thursday, she welcomed the opportunity to share the acting city manager role with Conley.

“Transitions like this give us an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to strong governance, transparency, and community engagement.” Haen said.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include a correction from the city regarding the permanent city manager recruitment process.