Kurtz to resign as Pasadena city manager

Pasadena City Manager Cynthia Kurtz will later today announce that she will step down from her post after nearly 10 years in the job, according to a City Hall source.

Kurtz is leaving to join a Pasadena consulting firm with expertise in transportation issues. She is expected to stay in her job until January of next year as the City Council, to whom she reports, finds a successor.

She has worked in City Hall for almost 20 years. From the city Web site: “She began with the city in 1987 as the capital program administrator. In 1991, she became director of Public Works dealing with the nuts and bolts of the city from streets and traffic signals to the $24 million reconstruction of the Colorado Street Bridge and the planning for the light rail line to Pasadena.

“Before she came to the city of Pasadena, she worked 10 years for the city of Portland, Oregon, holding a variety of positions in the Office of Transportation and the Bureau of Economic Development.

“She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in community development and housing from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Arts degree in transportation and urban planning from the University of Iowa.”