H.B. deputy city manager resigns to work for former mayor Tony Strickland

Jennifer Carey isn’t necessarily leaving Huntington Beach, just moving down the street.

The city’s deputy city manager is resigning from that post to accept a job as chief of staff for Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland, who represents District 36.

Carey said she did not know Strickland prior to his election to the Huntington Beach City Council in 2022, but that changed when he was mayor the following year.

“I had the opportunity to work very closely with him his first year here in Huntington Beach, and we built a really great relationship quickly,” she said. “Because of that partnership that we had early on, I am really looking forward to doing a lot more with Tony. I have a lot of faith and trust in his leadership.”

Carey, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in communication from Arizona State University, began working for her hometown in 2021 as the public information officer for the Huntington Beach Police Department.

In January 2022, she was promoted to public affairs manager, and served as acting deputy manager for six months last year before being named to the role in January.

Carey, 39, said her final day with the city will be Tuesday, and she will begin working for Strickland a week later. She will be based at his Huntington Beach district office.

“It was a difficult decision to leave, but I know that I made the right choice going with Senator Strickland’s office,” she said. “It isn’t fully leaving Huntington Beach, it’s being able to serve in a different capacity.”

Strickland resigned from the City Council earlier this year and won a special election in District 36, which includes most of coastal Orange County as well as the Los Angeles County cities of Artesia, Cerritos and Hawaiian Gardens. He avoided a runoff election by receiving more than 50% of the votes in the primary election.

Strickland said in a statement that he was happy to have Carey on board.

“We are lucky to have Jen join our team,” he said. “She is extremely talented and will serve the people of Senate 36th District well. During my time on the City Council, Jen was a fantastic employee for the city of Huntington Beach, as I had the opportunity to experience firsthand her leadership when we worked together to improve the city.”

Carey said Huntington Beach is in the process of onboarding a new city spokesperson in the coming weeks.