Doug Dunford has made such an impression on the Ceres City Council as interim city manager in the wake of Alex Terrazas’ April departure that they want him to stick around.
Dunford was selected by the council for the permanent position, beating out other candidates who applied for consideration.
The city hired an executive search firm to recruit candidates and assist the council in winnowing down the numbers to three to be interviewed by the council. Human Resources Director Delilah Vasquez said that six candidates met the minimum qualifications.
Those finalists were interviewed during a six-hour closed session on Monday, Dec. 4. Mayor Javier Lopez came out of the closed door meeting to announce that staff had been given direction but provided no information. The appointment appeared on the Monday, Dec. 11 Ceres City Council agenda for ratification.
“We had three amazing applicants, all from different backgrounds,” said Councilman Daniel Martinez. “They all brought a lot. Doug did a phenomenal job.”
Dunford said he is “very honored to be selected as your next city manager. I look forward to working with a team of professionals to leading the city forward and working with the council in achieving goals you have set.”
Dunford was appointed interim city manager in May to fill the vacancy left by City Manager Alex Terrazas who left the city in April after being placed on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons. Terrazas was hired in August 2021 after Tom Westbrook resigned to take a position with the city of Red Bluff.
Dunford previously served as city manager of Gustine in Merced County from May 2017 to April 2022 before becoming city manager of the beleaguered California City in the Mojave Desert. Four months into the job Dunford resigned. The small city had been dealing with high turnover and unstable leadership which caused the Kern County Grand Jury to issue a cited in scathing June 2022 report which declared that city management there was “in crisis mode.”
Dunford’s professional career began in September 1978 when he served 11 years as a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Sheriff. He served as a Turlock Police officer from October 1989 to June 1993, resigning to become a police captain with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad’s San Bernardino office. He remained there until February 2002, to spend seven years as Escalon’s police chief and a year as the police chief of Gustine. Dunford was hired to serve as Gustine’s city manager in May 2017.
