Former Obama Staffer Who Worked for Garcetti, Named Deputy City Manager and Director of Policy

Anuj Gupta's primary qualification seems to be that he worked for Democrat such as Gil Garcetti and Barack Obama. And as they usually do, the City of Santa Monica has awarded him with a quarter million dollars a year. Way to go, guys!

City Manager Rick Cole has selected Anuj Gupta as Deputy City Manager and Director of Policy. Gupta, a Santa Monica resident, currently serves as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's General Counsel in the Office of Immigrant Affairs. He previously worked for the Obama White House and with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Gupta worked for the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice prior to working in the Obama White House as Associate Staff Secretary with primary responsibility for all presidential policy briefing and decision memos. He also worked on President Obama's 2008 campaign.

Gupta will be paid $176,000 a year to start, about three times the average salary of a Santa Monica resident.

Here's the rest of the City press release. Don't read it if you take Insulin or heart medication: Gupta worked for the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice prior to working in the Obama White House as Associate Staff Secretary with primary responsibility for all presidential policy briefing and decision memos. He also worked on President Obama’s 2008 campaign.

Returning to Los Angeles, he served as Mayor Garcetti’s Director of Operations, spearheading a number of key policy initiatives including the campaign to raise the minimum wage and US-China Climate Leaders Summit. With the advent of the Trump Administration’s attack on immigrant rights, Anuj shifted into a newly created role as General Counsel in the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.

"As a Santa Monica resident and parent, I am deeply invested in the future of our great city, and I believe there is truly no better place to live, work, learn, and play,” said Gupta. “I'm delighted to join the city's team in advancing innovative and progressive policies that will ensure Santa Monica remains a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive community, and a model for dynamic 21st century governance."

Anuj is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Stanford with a BA in Public Policy and a Cum Laud graduate of NYU School of Law, where he was a teaching assistant to Professor Derrick Bell. He was a law clerk with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and later practiced as a litigation associate at O’Melveny & Myers.

"Anuj's policy expertise and strategic abilities have been great assets to my administration," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. "He has helped drive forward a number of my top priorities — including our efforts to protect immigrant Angelenos. We will miss him on our team, but I know he will be an outstanding leader in the City of Santa Monica."

As Deputy City Manager, Gupta will spearhead the development and implementation of policy initiatives to achieve greater community wellbeing, environmental sustainability, economic vitality, and social equity. He will manage special projects requiring multi-stakeholder coordination as well as efforts to promote, measure, and achieve the City Council’s five strategic goals.