Leaving Danville is 'Bittersweet' Says Longtime Town Employee Marcia Somers

Marcia Somers, Danville's Assistant Town Manager, has been tapped as Los Altos' next city manager.

Her $196,000 (base salary), five-year contract appears on the agenda for the Feb. 28 meeting of Los Altos City Council, which has been searching for a new city manager since Doug Schmitz .

Somers, a 29-year Campbell resident, would take over April 2, assuming the council votes to approve the contract on Tuesday night.

"Everything came together in the right place, at the right time," said Somers, who, after six years as assistant town manager, was looking for a new opportunity in a community that fit her broad range of experience.

"I think she's going to bring a great deal of enthusiasm," said Los Altos City Council member Ron Packard, who was on the personnel committee that identified Somers. "She helped transform their downtown."

Somers joined Danville town staff in 1993 as Community Services Director, and the Los Altos City Council took note that during her 19-year tenure, "Somers provided leadership to virtually every part of the Town organization," according to the contract memo. 

"Los Altos will be getting someone who is truly outstanding in every sense of the word," said Danville Town Manager Joe Calabrigo.

"Anyone who has seen Marcia in action knows that this is a step that she has been ready and qualified to take for some time.”

Packard said that when the council members swooped into Danville to see what Somers had done, they were impressed with how she had helped transform downtown Danville into a vital district.

According to the council memo, Somers' experience comprises serving as project manager for the design and construction of a number of capital projects, including the development of a 17-acre Town/County community park, renovation of the historic , the inclusion of , and restoration of the and its expansion into a shared-use facility with a Senior Center located in the downtown retail district.

She is proud of those projects, she said, because they allow the community great places to come together.

"What we've accomplished as a team of people in Danville makes me feel good," Somers said.

She calls her departure from Danville "bittersweet."

"(Danville is) a place where people really care about their community," she said. But adds that what she has seen in Danville, she also sees in Los Altos.

"Los Altos has a number of committees and commissions and I was impressed by that," she said. "It's one of the areas I really enjoy, working with people, having those opportunities."

One thing she probably won't miss is her commute. A 29-year resident of Campbell, Somers is a road warrior and a veteran of I-880, I-680 and probably a few back routes to Danville. Somers made the 45-mile drive every day willingly because "this community is worth it."

"I've had an absolutely fabulous time here."

Danville Patch Editor Terry Parris Jr. contributed to this report.