Clocking out: Gavin Curran retires as assistant city manager of Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach Assistant City Manager Gavin Curran gained enough currency in more than two decades of service to the city to make his parting remarks as long as he liked.
Only a couple minutes earlier, Mayor Mark Orgill had read a proclamation in honor of Curran, who is set to retire. Thursday is his last day on the job.
"Famous for turning a simple question into a comprehensive lesson, if you asked him what time it was, you were likely to learn how to build a clock, " Orgill read from the podium at the June 23 meeting.
Advertisement So naturally, after taking pictures with his colleagues on the dais, Curran reached for a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and asked the mayor if he, like those attending a public hearing, would get three minutes to speak.
Curran quickly covered as many parties as he could in expressing his gratitude, from city managers and council members present and past to the engaged residents of the town and his teammates on the city staff.
"The truth is, no accomplishment belongs to any one person, " Curran said. "Everything we achieved was the result of dedicated people showing up every day, working together, solving problems and supporting one another. I 've been incredibly fortunate to work along some truly talented people over the years, and I want to thank everyone for their friendship, their patience, and yes, putting up with me for the last two decades.
"When I look back, I 'm not going to think about budgets ever again, staff reports, or projects, nearly as much as people might think I might, but I will look back at the friendships, the challenges that we all worked through together, the many, many late nights that I 've been in this council room and meeting, a lot of the difficult decisions I 've made over the years, the laughter, and just the shared sense of purpose."
Curran 's career in municipal government began as assistant director of finance for the city of El Segundo in 1997. He joined the city of Laguna Beach as a finance officer in September 2004.
Since arriving in Laguna, Curran also held titles as director of finance and information technology (Sept. 2008- June 2017 ) and director of administrative services (July 2017- Dec. 2022 ) before becoming assistant city manager.
Curran, who earned bachelor 's degrees in accounting and finance from Loyola Marymount University, served as acting city manager during a time of transition. He became a bridge between Sean Joyce 's service as interim city manager - following the execution of a separation agreement with Shohreh Dupuis - and the appointment of Dave Kiff to take over as city manager.
Laguna Beach has an assistant city manager in place, as Jeremy Frimond - who first joined the city as an ocean lifeguard in the summer of 2005 - came alongside Curran in that role in March 2024.
City Manager Dave Kiff, in a text message Wednesday, said the city would recruit for an assistant city manager that "serves more as a chief operating officer."
Councilmembers praised Curran for his institutional knowledge, professionalism, and sense of humor.
"There are certain people in organizations that kind of hold it together, that make sure that things behind the scenes happen and the information flows the way it 's supposed to flow, " Councilman Bob Whalen said. "You 've always been one of those people. You knew the answer. If you didn 't know the answer, you went and found the answer.
"Your calm demeanor, no matter which angle things were hitting you from, I 've always been impressed by. You 're unflappable in that regard."
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