Austin City Manager Names Assistant City Managers For Safety and Mobility

Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk has selected Gina Fiandaca and Rey Arellano as Assistant City Managers as part of an ongoing process to align his executive team with Austin’s Strategic Direction.

Mr. Arellano will oversee departments and projects focused on safety. Ms. Fiandaca will manage efforts on mobility.

Safety and Mobility are two of the strategic outcomes that are part of the City’s Strategic Direction 2023. The first seeks to make sure families are safe in their homes, at work, and in our community. The second is designed to secure real progress in getting us where we want to go, when we want to get there, safely and cost-effectively.

“Gina and Rey are going to be instrumental in helping us meet our goals in the areas of safety and mobility, which have been identified as key strategic priorities for the City,” said Cronk. “They will be leading multi-talented teams working to tackle some of the top challenges facing Austin.”

Gina Fiandaca

Gina Fiandaca serves as Commissioner of the City of Boston Transportation Department (BTD). As Commissioner, Gina oversees staff who work together to ensure safe, efficient and equitable access on Boston’s street system for all users through a combination of transportation planning, engineering, management, operations and enforcement efforts.

Under Gina’s leadership, the department released the 15-year, $4.74B “Go Boston 2030”, which was Boston’s first major transportation plan in decades that included mobility projects and polices to expand access, improve safety and ensure reliability.

She serves as Chair of the City of Boston Air Pollution Control Commission, as well as a member of the City of Boston Public Improvement Commission and the Boston Emergency Management Agency, the National Association of Transportation Officials and the Massachusetts Area Planning Council.

Gina received a bachelor’s degree from Suffolk University and an MBA from Boston University.

Rey Arellano

Rey Arellano currently serves as an Assistant City Manager for the City of Austin and oversees the Safety portfolio that includes Police, Fire, Austin-Travis County EMS, Austin Code, Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Watershed Protection and the Downtown Austin Community Court.

As the City’s Lead Executive, he collaborated with Travis County executives to develop the necessary legislation and governing documents that led to the establishment of the Austin-Travis County Sobering Center.

Rey serves as Chair of the regional Combined Transportation, Emergency and Communications Center Governing Board; as well as Chair of the City’s Information Technology Steering Committee and the Open and Smart Advisory Committee.

His previous assignments include Deputy City Manager & Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the City of Tacoma WA and the City of San Diego CA.  

Rey completed a 22-year career as a U.S. Navy Officer, serving as a nuclear-trained Submarine Officer on various submarines and other staff assignments. Rey earned a Master of Science in Information Management from Marymount University, Arlington, VA; and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

BACKGROUND: 

Last summer Cronk began the process of reorganizing the City Manager’s Office around the outcomes in the Strategic Direction 2023 by laying out plans for an open recruitment for four Assistant City Manager positions and one Deputy City Manager.

The City released a survey asking the community what skills and characteristics they felt were most important for City leaders to possess. The responses to the survey helped build the job posting and candidate profiles.

Cronk also solicited additional feedback from the quality of life commissions and with community groups related to the areas of responsibility of each Assistant City Manager.

In December, Cronk selected Rodney Gonzales as Assistant City Manager for economic opportunity and affordability and Chris Shorter as Assistant City Manager for health & environment and culture & lifelong learning.

The search for a Deputy City Manager, overseeing the priority Strategic Outcome called Government That Works For All is ongoing.