Patricia E. Martel, ICMA-CM, city manager, Daly City, California, was installed on September 30 as president of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association. She will serve as ICMA President for a one-year term commencing at the association’s 101st Annual Conference in Seattle/King County, Washington. Ms. Martel will remain on the board as past president for one year following her presidency.

ICMA’s mission is to create excellence in local governance by promoting professional management worldwide and increasing the proficiency of appointed chief administrative officers (i.e., city, town, and county managers), assistant administrators, and other employees who serve local governments and regional entities around the world. The organization’s more than 10,000 members from 37 countries also include educators, students, and other local government employees.

“The men and women who serve on the ICMA Executive Board are outstanding leaders, not only in their own communities but also in the field of professional local government management,” says ICMA Executive Director Robert J. O’Neill.  “These individuals are committed to moving our organization and our profession forward, and we appreciate the time, energy, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness they each bring to ICMA.”

As President, Ms. Martel will lead the organization’s 21-member executive board, which is composed of the president, president-elect, and past president plus 15 vice presidents from five ICMA regions throughout the United States and three vice presidents elected from countries outside the U.S. 

Ms. Martel will work closely with the board and ICMA’s executive director to establish the organization’s direction, oversee its management, represent it to state and national associations of local government management, and maintain relationships among affiliate organizations. The ICMA Executive Board also enforces ICMA’s Code of Ethics, which governs the professional and personal conduct of the ICMA membership. ICMA Executive Board members attend four meetings annually.                    

Ms. Martel began her extensive career in California local government as an administrative assistant, engineering (1980-82); senior administrative analyst (1982-85); assistant to the city manager (1985-88); and executive assistant to the city manager (1988-91) with the city of Inglewood. In 1991, she became assistant city manager in South San Francisco, a position she held for four years. She also served as interim city manager of South San Francisco between 1994 and 1995. Ms. Martel accepted the position of assistant city manager in Daly City in 1995 and served in that capacity until 200l, when she went on to become general manager, City and County of San Francisco (2001-04) and redevelopment project manager in Hayward (2004-05) before assuming her current position as city manager of Daly City in 2005.

Ms. Martel has been an active member of ICMA since 1984, and she served on the organization’s Governmental Affairs & Policy Committee (2008-11), Task Force on Financing (2012-13), the Task Force on Women in the Profession (2012-2013), and Task Force on Leadership (2013-14). She received an ICMA Service Award in recognition of her 30 years of service to local government in 2011 and earned ICMA-Credentialed Manager status, the highest professional designation bestowed by the association, in 2011.

Ms. Martel initially was elected to the ICMA Executive Board as a West Coast Regional President (2009-12) and was selected as President-Elect in 2014, a post she will hold until her installation as President on September 30.

Ms. Martel earned a bachelor’s degree (1978) and a master’s degree in public administration (1980) from the University of Southern California.

About ICMA

ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide. The organization’s mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build sustainable communities that improve people’s lives. ICMA provides member support, publications, data and information, peer and results-oriented assistance, and training and professional development to 10,000 appointed city, town, and county leaders and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA's members affect millions of individuals living in thousands of communities throughout the world, from small villages and towns to large metropolitan areas.

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