Peter Pirnejad
The Foster City Council has dismissed City Manager Peter Pirnejad after only seven months in the job, with the council remaining silent on the reasoning after a close 3-2 vote.
“I support and abide by the will of the council. We will continue to move forward in a positive way to find the right person for the job,” said Councilmember Jon Froomin, who voted no on the action.
The council Wednesday voted on the issue during a closed session of its Aug. 25 meeting and later announced it had exercised its option to terminate the employment agreement with Pirnejad, effective immediately and without cause.
“I want to thank the Foster City Council for the opportunity to serve this fine community. I would also like to recognize the staff’s dedication and commitment. I wish them all the very best in their future endeavors,” Pirnejad said Thursday.
Vice Mayor Richa Awasthi and councilmembers Sam Hindi and Patrick Sullivan voted yes to terminate the city’s contract with Pirnejad. Froomin and Mayor Sanjay Gehani voted no. Awasthi, Gehani and Hindi declined to comment Thursday on the termination. Sullivan did not return requests for comment.
The council named Police Chief Tracy Avelar as acting city manager effective immediately. Foster City will now move to find an interim city manager to take over from Avelar and recruit a permanent city manager. Froomin said the council’s hope for Avelar is to keep things running smoothly while it finds an interim city manager, with a desire to have a contract ready for an interim city manager at its Sept. 20 meeting. Froomin was involved with Avelar’s hiring in Foster City as a police officer and worked with her in the police department.
“I have every confidence that she will be able to carry out what we need done for the next 30 to 45 days or so until we are able to get an interim in,” Froomin said.
He said the council hopes to have a range of four to six months for the interim city manager to be in charge, with the goal of finding a permanent city manager promptly. Foster City negotiated in a warranty with the consultant Foster City hired to find Pirnejad, William Avery & Associates, Inc., that if the hire didn’t work out, it would do another search for the city at cost.
“We will be reaching out to Mr. Avery and finding out if he has any candidates immediately available that he knows of,” Froomin said.
Froomin’s initial assessment was that there would not be much interest within the city for the interim or full-time position, likely leading to hiring someone from outside.
The City Council unanimously appointed Pirnejad in December after a nationwide search, and he started Jan. 4. He took over for former City Manager Jeff Moneda, who announced his resignation in April 2020. Pirnejad previously served as executive director of Oracle’s Global Public Sector Industry Strategy, which focused on state and local government. He has also been the assistant city manager in Napa.
The council was happy with his initial hiring, with a 5-0 vote at a Dec. 7 council meeting accepting his appointment. Several councilmembers said they were excited, with Hindi saying he embodied the future of Foster City and a new organization and culture. The city held a performance evaluation for the city manager in a closed session at a July 12 special meeting.
The dismissal adds to a gap in the city manager’s office and in other departments. Foster City in late July announced former Assistant City Manager Dante Hall would leave to become the city manager of Hercules in the East Bay. Hall’s last day was Aug. 11. Hall previously served as interim city manager while the search that eventually led to the hiring of Pirnejad occurred. Foster City in January also made leadership changes in its Public Works and Parks and Recreation Departments, with former Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Liu and Public Works Director Norman Dorais let go.
Froomin acknowledged leadership change could affect city direction that could be hard for employees.
“My hope is that our employees just concentrate on doing what they do best, and let us try to get the structure in place to provide them the support that they deserve,” Froomin said.
Pirnejad will receive nine months of base salary severance pay as part of a general release agreement because his termination occurred within 24 months of him taking the job. City Attorney Benjamin Stock said Pirnejad would receive a total of $176,247 in his severance. He had an annual salary of $235,000. Avelar will receive a 5% increase during her time as acting city manager. She currently makes $18,668 a month, and she will get $19,583 a month during her time. Pirnejad would not have been allowed to get severance or termination pay if the City Council terminated Pirnejad for cause, according to his employment agreement.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
Get ready for an exhilarating morning at the Third Annual Foster City 5k Fun Run on Saturday… Read moreFoster City 5k
Join us May 9th for the District 4 Toastmasters 2026 Conference - Eras of YOU: Renewing Huma… Read moreDistrict 4 Annual Conference - Eras of YOU Renewing Human Resilience in the Generative AI Era
CA Is Burning said:
CoastalBoy said:
I agree with both Terence and Dirk. Experience counts in the job Canepa is running for, not schmoozing ability. Irizarry has experience.
Dirk van Ulden said:
guest792662073dcce25ebb0a5a75 said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(2) comments
Foster City once again has a crises of leadership. What is sad is that it is of the city councils making. An extreme.y well qualified city manager has been fired for unknown reasons. If he had done something egregious, or just general misconduct, the council vote would have been unanimous. Instead, residents are left with no warning, no answers, no transparency. Dr. Pirnejad deserved better treatment, as do the residents.
That three members of the council fired the city manager two weeks after the assistant city manager left and with no qualified successor, shows a lack of leadership, a dereliction of duty.
That this occurred weeks after these same three councilmembers tried to give away the golf course to developers in an after midnight council meeting vote, amplifies the real concerns residents should have about Councilmembers Hindi, Sullivan and Vice Mayor Awasthi. They have an agenda and think nothing of marginalizing the Mayor and another Councilmember, and now firing the City Manager. They will move aside anyone who gets in their way.
Just 18 months ago, residents sent a clear and overwhelming message, when 77% voted to recall ex-Councilmember Herb Perez. Residents were seeking decency and transparency These three councilmembers have failed to heed the communities message. They have violated the public trust they have been honored with. They are unfit for governance.
Maybe I’m wrong, but doesn’t the Foster City Council work for their residents? What are these folks hiding? Is Foster City so flush with cash that they can afford to pay out over $175k for no return? What’s the rush? With other “changes” in their Public Works and Parks and Recreation, it sounds like something is afoot. Maybe some enterprising investigators or news reporters can find out? Or, maybe we can hear some salacious rumors? It’s amusing that Froomin acknowledges leadership change can be hard for employees. Maybe because these same employees may be afraid of being let go without cause? Unfortunately, they’re probably not due a $175k golden severance package.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.