Lori Ann Farrell Harrison was sworn-in as the City Manager of the City of Costa Mesa during an Oath of Office ceremony at the start of the workday on Monday July 1, 2019. She is Costa Mesa’s eighth City Manager and first woman appointed to the city’s top position.
“I am grateful to the Costa Mesa City Council for this opportunity and excited to get to work. Costa Mesa is a great community and I look forward to working together with Council, staff, residents and businesses to continue moving Costa Mesa into the future while focusing on fiscal responsibility, public safety and improving neighborhoods and quality of life.”
Farrell Harrison, a local government expert with 28 years of experience in the public and private sectors, had been the Assistant City Manager in Huntington Beach since 2017. In that role, she was responsible for coordinating complex initiatives in many aspects of city government with an emphasis on fiscal sustainability, transparency and process improvement. She also worked with the City Manager in the daily oversight of the city’s 10 non-elected departments including police, fire and public works.
Additionally, she served as chief advisor to the City Manager, the seven-member City Council and the elected City Attorney, City Treasurer and City Clerk. She has also been a leader in citywide homelessness efforts, and has led successful labor negotiations with the city’s eight employee associations covering 987 full-time employees.
Prior to her role as Assistant City Manager, Farrell Harrison served as the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Huntington Beach for seven years, overseeing a total budget of $344 million. She was instrumental in helping the city reduce its unfunded liabilities.
“Ms. Farrell Harrison’s extensive background working in government and the private sector prepared her for the challenges ahead to ensure Costa Mesa plans for a fiscally sustainable future, with quality services and facilities for the community,” Mayor Katrina Foley said. “We look forward to working with her to restore our neighborhoods and parks, make our community safer, develop plans for economic stability and environmental sustainability, and increase community engagement.”
Prior to Huntington Beach, Farrell Harrison served as the City Controller, and later as the Chief Financial Officer, for the City of Long Beach, the sixth largest city in California. In that capacity, she was responsible for working with 23 department heads in managing a city budget of $2.3 billion.
Earlier in her career, she worked for the State of New York and later the City of New York’s Administration for Children’s Services overseeing the $2.0 billion budget for child protective, adoption and day care services.
Farrell Harrison holds a Master’s of Public Administration from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor’s Degree from Barnard College of Columbia University. She is fluent in Spanish.
photos courtesy Matt Fitt Photography