CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — Chula Vista City Manager Maria Velarde Kachadoorian hass announced that she is retiring in October. She has served as the City Manager for the past five years.
“I will forever be grateful to have served as the City Manager for the City of Chula Vista. Although we faced many challenges, we refused to let them get in the way of achieving our potential as a City leading regional economic development opportunities resulting in a better quality of life for our residents,” said City Manager Maria V. Kachadoorian.
Appointed by the City Council, the City Manager serves as the City’s chief executive officer. The Office of the City Manager provides the leadership and direction that, in turn, implements the policies and decisions of the Chula Vista City Council.
“It is very satisfying both on a personal and a professional level to see the results of our collective efforts. I am proud of the amazing staff at the City and I am confident in the ability of the leadership team in place to harness the many opportunities that lie ahead for Chula Vista. Thank you to the Mayor and City Council for their continued trust and confidence.”
Kachadoorian’s career began in the Office of the Auditor and Controller at the County of San Diego. She joined
the City in 1998, and has held several key leadership positions, including Director of Finance, Deputy City
Manager, and Assistant City Manager, before being appointed City Manager in 2020. She is the first woman and
Latina to serve in the role.
As City Manager of Chula Vista, the county’s second-largest municipality with a population of 275,000, Kachadoorian oversees an annual budget of over $600 million and leads 14 departments, managing a workforce of just over 1,300 employees.
Throughout her tenure, she has been instrumental in guiding the City through the challenges of the 2008 Great Recession and COVID-19 pandemic, all while advancing major infrastructure projects through the passage and extension of Measure P, expanding neighborhood services like the ambulance transport program, and promoting fiscal responsibility. Other projects underway include the Millenia Library development, expansion of SDSU Nursing and Global Campus programs to Chula Vista seeding the university efforts, new film production studios that will transform the entertainment industry, and the City’s first cultural arts center.
“As City Manager, Maria's leadership has been instrumental in realizing many achievements for the City, including the opening of the Gaylord Pacific Resort and Convention Center, managing the City through the COVID-19 crisis and instituting fiscally sound policies that have set a strong foundation for the City,” said Mayor John McCann. “I am deeply appreciative of her commitment to improving the quality of life for all Chula Vista and wish her a well-earned retirement.”
