Milpitas Interim City Manager Deanna Santana has temporarily held back resignation — a decision she announced after a disagreement with a councilmember who’s alleged to have nearly violated California Law.
“She’s fixing the city. I don’t want to lose her,” said Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano. “It’s unfortunate the wrinkle that happened, but we’re moving forward and doing the people’s business.”
Santana’s initial decision to resign came in August after an incident involving Councilmember Evelyn Chua who reportedly nearly violated the Brown Act – California’s open meeting law – by improperly trying to schedule a meeting of the City Council. The situation led to a disagreement between Santana and Chua, after which Santana said she would resign, with her last day set for October 31.
“I came to Milpitas to help fix the organization, not to fight or be disrespected,” wrote Santana in an August email announcing her resignation. “Unfortunately, over the last two weeks, both have happened with Councilmember Chua.”
However, at later City Council meetings, Santana said that the two “cleared the air” and carried on “business as usual.”
Chua faced the censure process for the incident, though the process was later rolled back and Chua was asked to apologize.
During a meeting prior to Santana’s pending resignation, many city staff — including the police chief, the fire chief and city leadership — offered paeans to the work she had done in the city, with some pleading for her to stay.
“Although your time with us is still brief, your impact is already remarkable and deeply meaningful to all of us,” said Milpitas IT Director Daniel Nam at the October 21 city council meeting, reading from a letter from the city’s leadership team. “We remain hopeful that the progress and improvements initiated under your leadership can continue.”
Santana said over email that she was “here for the time being” pending future discussion by the City Council, which would happen in closed session. She did not address questions regarding her motivation for staying beyond her initial resignation date.
Santana was brought on as interim City Manager in April, after Ned Thomas resigned from the position in March. Should Santana ultimately resign, she would join a series of city managers who have come and gone from Milpitas in previous years, including an unexplained exit by Julie Edmonds-Mares in 2019 and former City Manager Steve McHarris, who sued the city over alleged misconduct by current and former mayors.
Prior to the recent set of events, Santana had seen her fair share of controversy. She was once the second-highest paid city manager in the state, earning $765,152 in compensation while working for Santa Clara. In 2022, she was ousted by the majority of the City Council, who cited “lack of confidence” in her ability to do her job. In August, she sued Santa Clara over clawing back benefits and retaliating against her.