By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Davis officially welcomed its first Black city manager this week as Daryel Dunston took office Sept. 15 and participated in his first City Council meeting Tuesday night.
“It goes without saying that there aren’t a lot of city managers that look like me,” Dunston told The OSBERVER. “To have that opportunity, it means the world.”
He hopes his presence in this key role shows younger generations that there is a place for them in local government. “I was trained to pay it forward. And so I absolutely hope that I’m an example to somebody that looks like me that aspires to work in local government,.” he said. “And if I could help that, I won’t hesitate.”
Davis is home to about 67,000 people, less than 3% of them Black. The job pays $280,051 a year.
Mayor Bapu Vaitla said in a press release that Dunston stood out during the city’s search process. “Daryel’s unique mix of administrative skill, personal warmth and technical knowledge stood out among our pool of excellent candidates.”
Vice Mayor Donna Neville said she looks forward to working with Dunston. “He brings great experience and energy, and I believe he is the right person to help us navigate the challenging issues we face,” she said.
Councilmember Linda Deos believes his record demonstrates the type of commitment Davis needs. “Throughout his career, Daryel has shown a deep commitment to public service through leadership roles in housing, emergency management and public safety,” Deos said.
Dunston, 42, comes to Davis after serving as assistant city manager in Santa Rosa, where he oversaw planning and economic development, housing and community services, the city clerk’s office, information technology and code enforcement. There, he helped the city secure tens of millions of dollars in funding, guided wildfire recovery efforts, and led initiatives around government transparency and infrastructure financing.
He previously worked in Oakland as senior policy advisor to the vice mayor, senior planner in the human services department, and as the city’s first homelessness administrator.
In Oakland, Dunston helped develop policies to respond to the city’s rising unsheltered population before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, including piloting a safe parking program that created sites for people living in RVs and vehicles. “We really made something of nothing,” he said, noting the program expanded to multiple locations.
He also coordinated the city’s emergency operations center during the pandemic, at one point helping to secure and deploy 90 FEMA trailers provided by Gov. Gavin Newsom for temporary housing. “It was a team effort but we made it happen, and that site is still there to this day,” Dunston said.
Dunston began his public service career as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in Prince George’s County, Maryland. He said he grew up in a family where “serving, giving back, doing your part was instilled in me at a very young age.” That guided him to align his career aspirations with opportunities to strengthen communities.
In Davis, Dunston said he intends to work with staff, the council and community members to find the right approach for local challenges. He said homelessness remains part of the conversation, but balancing the budget and identifying new economic development opportunities are equally pressing. He also pointed to the importance of strengthening ties with local schools and UC Davis.
What drew him to Davis, Dunston said, was the reputation of its city staff, the support of the council and the character of the community. He said the city’s identity as a college town reminded him of his time in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he studied as an undergraduate.
“I’ve got a lot to learn, right? I’m brand new, I don’t know what I don’t know,” he said. But he added that he looks forward to bringing his wide-ranging experience to the role — from firefighting to Oakland to Santa Rosa — and “then figuring out if we can make some magic happen here.”