The Sacramento City Council has appointed Maraskeshia Smith as city manager following a nationwide search, making her the first Black woman to hold the role. Her appointment is effective Monday, Jan. 5.
The city manager is the chief executive of city government, responsible for carrying out the policies approved by the council and overseeing the city’s day-to-day operations.
As city manager, Smith will oversee nearly 6,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees, manage an annual operating budget of $1.6 billion and implement policy direction from the council.
Smith, currently Santa Rosa’s city manager, said she accepted the role with gratitude and humility, describing Sacramento as a resilient and diverse city built from many cultures and communities working toward shared progress. She pledged to lead with transparency, integrity and a commitment to innovation, and said she wants residents, businesses and volunteers to feel valued by city government. “My aim is to make Sacramento the best-managed city in the country,” Smith said.
Her annual salary before benefits is $399,000.
In Sacramento’s “council-manager” system of government, the City Council sets priorities and approves ordinances, while the manager functions much like a chief executive, implementing those policies and directing the workforce. This structure differs from a “strong mayor” system, in which an elected mayor has executive powers.
In Sacramento, the mayor has one vote on the council and the city manager supervises departments, oversees the budget, interviews candidates for police and fire chief, and ensures services are delivered. City manager is considered one of the most important jobs in local government.
Over the past two decades, Sacramento voters have debated whether the mayor should hold executive authority. Former Mayor Kevin Johnson twice put measures on the ballot to give Sacramento a strong-mayor form of government, most recently in 2014, but voters rejected both efforts. In 2020, Mayor Darrell Steinberg backed a similar ballot measure, pitching it as a way to give the city clearer leadership during times of crisis. That proposal was also defeated.
At a news conference Tuesday, Smith emphasized that compassion must be at the center of addressing homelessness, pointing out that with construction costs running between $800,000 and $1 million per unit, the price of building housing has become nearly unsustainable, even when developers are able to combine multiple sources of funding. She praised the City Council for its visit to the tiny homes project and said new ideas are needed.
“So we have to look at creative solutions and innovative solutions in order to deal with challenging solutions,” she said. “It’s going to take the region. It’s going to take partnership. It’s going to take creativity, coordination, and compassion for us to continue to move that needle forward. I think this council is moving in that direction. They definitely have an equity approach to it. They have an empathetic approach to it, and they have an approach of dignity going into this. So I think we’re going in the right direction, and I look forward to seeing how we’re going to continue to move that needle forward.”
When asked why she chose Sacramento following the highly publicized departure of former City Manager Howard Chan, Smith said the city’s character and vision drew her in. She highlighted Sacramento’s major projects, including Innovation Park in Natomas, the Railyards and the recently launched USL stadium project, calling the city vibrant and growing. She added that Sacramento blends its history with innovation and equity in a way that appealed to her. Smith said controversy is a regular part of city management, but added that she respects her predecessor’s contributions, noting visible growth under Chan’s leadership.
Smith said her immediate focus will be on listening and assessing the city’s current capacity before setting new priorities. Having worked in multiple cities, she cautioned that not every so-called best practice fits every community. She added that she intends to meet with her team, review ongoing projects and understand what can realistically be advanced. Smith said the goal is to ensure Sacramento delivers well on the initiatives already underway before pursuing new ones.
For more than two decades, Smith has served in influential city management roles. She worked as deputy director and later director of public works in Cincinnati, assistant city administrator in Oakland and deputy city manager in Stockton.
Smith earned a master’s of business administration from Eastern Kentucky University and a bachelor’s of business administration from the University of Kentucky. In 2024, she was named a credentialed manager by the International City/County Management Association. Her career includes breaking barriers: she was the first female public services director in Cincinnati and Santa Rosa’s first Black female city manager.
Sacramento has a population of more than 500,000 while Santa Rosa’s population is roughly 175,000.
“Maraskeshia is the right person at the right time for our city, a gifted leader with a track record of cultural and operational transformation. I look forward to forging a true partnership to serve our residents and move our community forward,” said Rick Jennings, District 7 councilmember and chair of the Personnel and Public Employees Committee.
“We are honored to welcome Maraskeshia to the team,” Mayor Kevin McCarty said. “Not only is she an accomplished and transformative leader, more than equipped to take on the role, but also a dedicated public servant, committed to collaborative partnership and the long-term well-being of the residents she serves.”
The City Council will officially confirm Smith as city manager at its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 14.