Dunston spoke about his goals to address unhoused communities, balance the structural deficit and work alongside UC Davis leadership
By JORDAN POLTORAK — city@theaggie.org
During the Aug. 19 Davis City Council meeting, Daryel Dunston was chosen unanimously to be the new city manager. Dunston previously served as the assistant city manager in Santa Rosa and senior policy advisor in the vice mayor’s office in Oakland.
“I learned a great deal in both cities,” Dunston said. “What’s consistent between the two is working with policymakers and understanding what the needs of the community are; looking at the resources that are available and helping to develop policy and program services that are going to make a positive impact on the community.”
Dunston then spoke about his goals of getting to know those who work alongside him.
“First and foremost it’s getting to know the team; […] getting to know the leadership team and their deputy directors, managers, folks out in the field. ” Dunston said. “Also, [it’s] learning the council — I have to understand their idiosyncrasies, their policy concerns, their goals and vision they want to execute, because I am tasked with carrying that vision out.”
Dunston expanded on his goals for balancing the budget and working with UC Davis leadership.
“In addition to that, it’s no secret that we’re running a structural deficit, so one of my main priorities is to work with our finance team to come up with a plan to balance the budget,” Dunston said. “There are some forces at play out of our control. There are also a lot of opportunities for partnerships over at the university and to know the leadership over at [UC Davis].”
Dunston began his career in public service as a firefighter in Prince George’s County, Maryland before his transition into public administration.
“Most firefighters would describe it as a calling. We have servant hearts. I want to do anything I can to help those in need. Going from a firefighter to public administration seems like a leap, but I’m still putting out fires, just metaphorical ones, and I’m still helping. It motivates me to be able to contribute to the public good.”
City Councilmember Linda Deos spoke about her support for Dunston.
“Throughout his career, [Dunston] has shown a deep commitment to public service through leadership roles in housing, emergency management and public safety,” Deos said. “That kind of dedication and versatility speaks volumes and will be an asset to our community.”
In Oakland, Dunston contributed to projects that served unhoused populations, such as working in Oakland’s Emergency Operations Center during the COVID-19 pandemic and as Oakland’s homelessness administrator in the city administrator’s office. He explained how some of these strategies may be transferable, while others may not work for the City of Davis.
“It is a statewide crisis — it is not national — and the unhoused population is not a homogenous group. They have different needs depending on how insecure their housing is. You have some people who may be one or two paychecks away from being out on the street, and they need support because we don’t want them falling into homelessness,” Dunston said. “Some people are extremely low income, they have no income, and they need a different level of service than others. […] The unhoused landscape in Davis [is] going to look different than in Santa Rosa and it’s going to look different than it did in Oakland. We’ll take a look at some of the things I’ve done in Santa Rosa and Oakland and see if it makes sense, and if it doesn’t, then we have to be creative,” Dunston said.
Lastly, Dunston spoke about what he wanted students to know about him.
“I support advocacy efforts and the mental health crisis — I don’t know if we’ve seen it this bad nationally […] students are at the forefront of forcing public officials to take it seriously and to come up with interventions that speak specifically to students,” Dunston said. “That is something that I support. I want students to know that they have an ally in me and you will absolutely see me walking around on campus. If there is something that the city can do in partnership with the school to improve the quality of life for students, that is something we would lean into.”
Written By: Jordan Poltorak— city@theaggie.org
