Santee Welcomes New City Manager, Maggieโ Kaserman
Santee’s new โคCity Manager, Maggie Kaserman, officially began herโค role in recent weeks, bringingโ with her a wealth โof experience from her tenure in Poway. Kasermanโ was selected to lead Santee following the promotion of the โคprevious city manager, with the position becoming vacant and prompting her appointment.
Kaserman previously served as Assistantโ City Managerโ in Poway, a role she held โฃafter overseeing a diverseโ range of departments including human resources, finance, and community services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also temporarily assumed the responsibilities of community Services Director for โขapproximately 18 months.
While the Poway โCity Manager position opened in 2019, Kasermanโ opted not to apply, stating she “wasn’t ready” given โher โrelatively recent transition to Assistant City โฃManager. She explained her career approach centers on finding the right institution and building experience for future advancement. “When the timing seemed right and the organization seemed right,that’s when I would go for it (a cityโฃ manager role),” Kaserman said. “It has been a long-term career goal, but I am picky. Iโ was veryโ happy in Poway.”
Kaserman โฃactively monitored โopportunities, waiting for a position that aligned with her goals. She found that fit with Santee, and was hired at a base salary of $290,000. She noted the similarities in council philosophies and โorganizational structure between Santee and her previous role in Poway โwould ease her transition. “as the organization is similar to โคother cities I’ve โคworked for, that helps make the transition easier, because I wasn’t going โto an organization with different values andโฃ priorities then what I was used to,” she stated.
She โalso highlighted the benefits of working inโ aโฃ smaller community like โคSantee, where staff canโข build strong โขrelationships with residents and โgain a deeper understanding of their needs. Interestingly, Kaserman observed that both Poway and Santee share the same incorporation date – December 1, 1980 -โค a detailโค she took as a positive sign.
In her โinitial weeks, Kaserman has focused on familiarizing herself with cityโ staff and touring each council member’s district alongside them. As City Manager, she will oversee council members โฃand the implementation of โtheir legislation, aimingโข to proactively stay informed. “I think you can tell when you’re watching other city council meetings if staff is hearing about it for the first time,” Kaserman said. “Then you watch โขthings โคgo sideways,real rapid.”
Currently, Kaserman is adopting a “listenโ and learn” approach, with no immediate plans for changes. Looking โahead,โ she identified key areasโข for future focus, including traffic congestion, homelessness, road quality, and emergency response times. She acknowledged that addressing issues related โto State route 52 and the San Diego River will require collaboration with other jurisdictions.
Kaserman also recognizes the need to โbalance new housingโ development with the concerns of long-term residents who wish to preserveโ Santee’s existing character. “There’s a rich history here, you have โthe dynamic of โresidents who’ve been โขhere for a really long time and want Santee toโค remain what it has been forever,โข and then โyou also have newer residentsโ coming โคto the community who have different things that โคthey’re looking for,” she explained.
