SANTA MONICA—Santa Monica City Manager David White announced on Tuesday, October 17, the appointment of Anuj Gupta as director of the city’s Department of Transportation (DOT), following a nationwide recruitment.
Gupta, who has been serving in an interim capacity since former Director Ed King retired in August, will assume the permanent director position on Monday, October 23. He will manage a team of 472 employees and oversee a $110 million budget.
“Anuj brings a wealth of experience to the table and proven track record of leadership and collaboration,” said White. “I am confident he can build upon the strong foundation of the department to cultivate innovative, accessible, safe and sustainable mobility options.”
He served a total of 15 years of public service experience on both the local and federal levels. Before joining DOT, he served as the city’s deputy city manager for six years, leading the city’s legislative and intergovernmental advocacy work. He managed the communications team to engage and inform the community through the challenges and crises of recent years.
Gupta led several complex interdepartmental policy projects, including Santa Monica’s pioneering framework for shared mobility, while playing a crucial leadership role in the city’s economic recovery, homelessness and business engagement initiatives. Prior to becoming a member of the Santa Monica team, he worked for the Mayor of Los Angeles, the U.S. Department of Justice and with President Barack Obama’s during his administration.
“I am thrilled to lead the extraordinary team at the Department of Transportation into the future with a focus on safety, sustainability, innovation and outstanding customer service,” Gupta said. “One of the many reasons my family and I love Santa Monica is that we can navigate this amazing community by taking a Big Blue Bus, walking or biking instead of always getting in a car — and I look forward to accelerating our city’s work to make these modes safer and more accessible. DOT will continue advancing transformative projects and services that provide an unparalleled array of mobility options in the city, shaping a future that is more equitable and sustainable for all.”
Santa Monica’s DOT combines Big Blue Bus planning, operations and maintenance, traffic engineering, multi-modal transportation planning, programming and design, shared mobility and micromobility regulation, transportation permitting and parking operations and management under one administration. For details on the Department of Transportation, visit santamonica.gov/departments/samodot.
Gupta resides in Santa Monica and will earn an annual salary of $252,792.
By Trevor