Interim City Manager Lane Dilg has announced her resignation from the City of Santa Monica.
According to City Hall, Dilg informed the City Council and City staff that she will leave the City of Santa Monica in Spring 2021 as her family relocates for public service outside of Santa Monica.
"Across my career, I have been immensely proud to dedicate myself to the public good. Serving the City of Santa Monica as Interim City Manager during the pandemic has been no exception,” said Interim City Manager Dilg in a statement. “In the months to come, I remain fully committed to our ongoing work together to craft a thriving, more equitable Santa Monica as the pandemic subsides and the economy lifts. But I also know that finding the right leader for this uniquely talented city organization requires a deliberate, thoughtful search. To allow time for that search, I am letting the Council know now that my family plans to leave Santa Monica in the Spring of 2021.”
Dilg took the helm as Interim City Manager in April 2020 after then City Manager Rick Cole resigned ahead of a vote on budget cuts needed to address the city’s projected $226 million budget gap.
She was previously the City Attorney for nearly three years and came to Santa Monica from UCLA.
Prior to her time at UCLA, Dilg spent four years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Central District Office in California. There she prosecuted public corruption, organized crime, human trafficking, fraud and other federal criminal offenses. Dilg also served as Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where she was a trusted legal advisor to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in confirmation hearings for United States Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and during consideration of the Affordable Care Act. Dilg’s experience also includes time as a civil litigator at the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and Susman Godfrey, LLP. She served as a member of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris’ transition team upon Senator Harris’ election to the United States Senate.
“Lane’s love of this city, her intellect, and her capacity to inspire hope in our darkest hours are the benchmarks of her leadership,” said Mayor Sue Himmelrich. “That Lane accepted this position at the City’s most desperate moment is a testament to her commitment to public service. She has built a foundation that will allow Santa Monica to thrive in years to come, and I look forward to working with her and the Council to establish a thoughtful, deliberate process for the City to identify its next City Manager.”
The Santa Monica City Council will begin an executive search in early 2021. Dilg plans to remain with the City into the Spring of 2021 to assist with the transition.
