Santa Maria has filled its vacant assistant city manager slot with a familiar face. 

Chuen Wu was named to the city’s number two job after working as interim assistant city manager for the past seven months, city leaders announced this week.

The job became vacant when Andrew Hackleman left last year.

Wu (formerly Ng) has led the city’s Community Development Department since early 2017.

He arrived in Santa Maria with more than a dozen years of experience in municipal planning, having worked for the cities of Lancaster and Hanford.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Occidental College, and a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

He was familiar with Santa Maria, since he lived in the city while obtaining his master’s degree from Cal Poly. 

Planning Division Manager Dana Eady will fill in as interim community development director.

Eady, a UCSB graduate, has worked for the city since late 2019, and previously was with the Santa Barbara County Planning Division for more than 13 years. 

The Santa Maria City Council expanded the search for a new city manager after the first round of interviews. Longtime Recreation and Parks Department leader Alex Posada continues to fill in as interim city manager