Corpus Christi’s City Council named San Antonio Deputy City Manager Peter Zanoni the lone finalist for the role of city manager at a Tuesday council meeting. Zanoni anticipates his last day in San Antonio will be in about three weeks.
“[Leaving] is the toughest part. It is 22 years with the same organization,” Zanoni said, noting he has spent more than two decades working for the City of San Antonio. “I was telling some folks recently that … in this profession, it is almost kind of a responsibility if you are ready to be a city manager. … The easiest thing is to ignore [that responsibility] but the requirement is to make yourself available for the opportunity.”
In his current role, Zanoni oversees the Transportation and Capital Improvements Department, the Planning Department, Neighborhood and Housing Services Department, the Pre-K 4 SA program, and the 2017 municipal bond program.
“Peter Zanoni will make a great city manager for Corpus Christi,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “We wish him the best and appreciate his years of service to San Antonio.”
Zanoni was appointed to his current role in San Antonio in November 2012. He, along with five other lieutenants of former City Manager Sheryl Sculley, were on the shortlist to replace her, but Erik Walsh, then a deputy city manager, got the job.
“Peter has a proven record of public service that will serve the City of Corpus Christi well,” Walsh said in a statement. “I’m very happy for Peter and his family. Peter and I have worked together for over 20 years and I will miss his presence here in the organization.”
Zanoni’s annual salary will be $300,000, and his first day in Corpus Christi will be May 20, according to the Corpus Christi Caller Times.
Shortly after Sculley announced her retirement plans, Zanoni applied for the Corpus Christi job, Zanoni confirmed to the Rivard Report. He noted he applied for the position long before finalists were selected in the search for Sculley’s replacement.
Zanoni’s last day will likely be May 10 to give him time to transition out of his current role and some time to transition into his new one. He will still be available by phone and email to help transition whoever takes over his oversight roles, he said.
Corpus Christi’s city manager position has been vacant for about a year following the resignation of Margie Rose, according to a report from the Corpus Christi Caller Times.
The size of Corpus Christi and the city’s desire to improve itself drew Zanoni to apply for the city manager job.
“It is not a job that is going to be boring,” Zanoni said. “It is going to take a lot of teamwork and bringing in some new ideas and building a strong team there. It is a city on the move – it has billions of dollars in investments in the port area as well as from the oil and gas industry.”
