Vallejo City Council votes to hire Harry Black as permanent city manager

VALLEJO – The Vallejo City Council voted Tuesday night to make Harry Black the city’s permanent city manager, several months since he was hired as interim city manager.

Black, formerly Stockton’s city manager, was hired in April as interim city manager and began working in the role May 16. The council voted 6-1 to promote him to the permanent role, with Councilmember Peter Bregenzer opposed.

Following the vote, Black thanked the council, saying, “I’m also grateful that you have confidence in my ability to bestow upon me this tremendous ability. I will say that we are going to win.”

The employment agreement presented Tuesday said that city staff found that Black has “demonstrated his seasoned expertise and strong ability to implement necessary improvements.”

The report continued “Mr. Black has not only focused on ensuring continuity of operations while serving in the interim role, but he has also focused on advancing key  city priorities, including fiscal stability, organizational alignment, public safety, and economic development.”

Black was praised by Councilmember Helen-Marie “Cookie” Gordon for his work during the short period since he was hired. She said that Black is skilled at helping the council understand the work to be done and present it to the public. 

“I believe you want to see Vallejo flourish,” Gordon said, addressing Black.

Bregenzer explained that he was the only “no” vote on approving hiring Black permanently because he disagreed with the process that led to Black’s selection. He said he thinks ”there is a major lack of transparency in how all of this unfolded."

“We did not get any community input, we also didn't get any staff input,” Bregenzer said. “We’re just going off a gut feeling we have.” 

Mayor Andrea Sorce said she thinks the city cannot wait longer to make a permanent hire, and said she and city staff will make time to introduce the city manager to the public informally. 

Councilmember Alexander Matias said he extensively researched all candidates the city considered for the role, and said that Black will help city leaders tackle an “intractable economic problem.”

The City Council in June approved the 2026-27 budget after months of work to avoid a deficit, which cut 10 jobs and 44 vacant employee positions. The city will during the coming year rely more heavily on funds from Measure P, a seven-eighth-cent sales tax passed by voters in 2022, while seeking ways to create more revenue streams and tackle years of deferred maintenance.

Black is the fourth permanent city manager hired within the last several years. He was hired following the exit of former city manager Andrew Murray, who served in the role since May 2024. Murray followed Mike Malone, who retired in 2023, having served in the permanent role for just over a year amid scandals in the city’s police department and housing division. 

Black was hired in April with a base salary of $340,432. His contract is for a 60-month term with a deferred compensation plan with an annual maximum of $32,500. He will also receive a housing allowance of $3,000 per month and a car allowance of $500 per month.

Black will work alongside Assistant City Manager Nalungo Conley. A second assistant city manager position is vacant after former Assistant City Manager Gillian Haen recently departed to become the city manager in Chico. That appointment recently drew some controversy in that city in part following local interest in reporting by the Vallejo Sun on her record in Vallejo.