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West Covina council ends city manageremployment agreement and names acting city manager
Summary
In a pair of closely divided votes, the West Covina City Council voted to terminate the city manager's employment agreement and appointed the director of public safety as acting city manager.
The West Covina City Council voted on May 20 to end the city manager's employment agreement and to appoint the director of public safety as acting city manager.
The council, on a motion by Mayor Tony Wu and a second by Mayor Pro Tem Lehi Lopez Villatto, voted 3-2 not to continue the city manager's employment agreement effective immediately. The city attorney read the vote in open session: "the council voted 3 to 2 with Councilmember Diaz and Councilmember Cantos voting no to not continue the employment agreement with the city manager effective immediately."
At the same meeting the council then moved to appoint Director of Public Safety Mylan Marakic as acting city manager. On a motion by Councilmember Gutierrez and a second by Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Villatto, the council voted 4-1 to make the appointment, with Councilmember Cantos recording the lone dissent. The city attorney read that outcome as well.
Why this matters: removing a sitting city manager and naming an acting city manager alters the city's executive leadership and transfers day-to-day authority while the council determines next steps. The transcript and the city attorney's reading indicate the actions were taken after closed-session consideration and announced in open session.
What the council did: The termination motion and the interim appointment were recorded on the transcript by the city attorney. The votes were split on the termination, 3-2, and wider on the appointment, 4-1. The transcript does not include the terminated manager's name, the reason text beyond the vote, or any follow-up personnel timeline; the council did not include additional implementing details on the record at that time.
What comes next: The council now has an acting city manager in place; the transcript shows no further administrative timeline or a search process for a permanent replacement. The council may return with more details or with a recruitment or interim timeline at a future meeting.
