Coachella Holds Special Meeting to Address City Manager Vacancy After Interim Withdraws

The City of Coachella is holding a special city council meeting on Wednesday evening to evaluate the path forward on its ongoing city manager search, after Interim City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez publicly withdrew his name from consideration at the end of last week's regular council meeting.

The council will go into closed session at 5 p.m. at Coachella City Hall, 1515 Sixth Street, with two items on the agenda: a formal performance evaluation of Gonzalez in his interim role, and the appointment of a permanent city manager. 

Gonzalez made his decision clear at the close of last week's meeting, citing the political climate surrounding the role. "I'm going to withdraw from the city manager position. I'm not going to get involved in any political environment that's going on here," he said. "You have a great organization. I feel bad for them, really, because of all the politics that's going on here." 

The vacancy traces back to the council's decision to place the previous city manager, Dr. Gabriel Martin, on administrative leave before ultimately dismissing him. The reason for that move has never been publicly disclosed.

The full special meeting reconvenes at 6 p.m., followed by a budget study session for fiscal year 2026-27, though no action will be taken on the budget at this meeting.

Residents can attend in person, join via Zoom (Webinar ID: 884 5727 1898, Passcode: 606140), or submit written comments by email to cityclerk@coachella.org before noon Wednesday.