Cupertino’s City Manager Pamela Wu has stepped down from her position as part of a settlement reached with the City on June 3. Her departure marks the sixth change in management since 2018 – including three permanent and three temporary appointments – underscoring a turbulent pattern of turnover in Cupertino’s top administrative role.
According to a press release published by the municipality, the City Council had placed Wu on paid administrative leave on May 2 and elevated Deputy City Manager Tina Kapoor to serve as Acting City Manager. This announcement followed several closed session meetings held in April with the apparent intent of evaluating Ms. Wu’s performance, though no details were made publicly available.
Then came another closed session meeting on June 3 where the Council voted 4-1 to accept an expensive settlement with Ms. Wu that included her resignation. Vice Mayor Kitty Moore was the no vote.
While the full text of the agreement was released in a June 9 press release, the City provided little context or explanation surrounding the decision.
According to that release, “the City Council agreed to end all pending investigations into Ms. Wu’s service as City Manager” and conferred 8 months of severance and benefits totaling over $311,000. The settlement also released both parties from any claims related to Ms. Wu’s tenure with the City.
However, the full text of the agreement states that “THE CITY shall also cause to be paid to EMPLOYEE current and additional eight (8) months of severance, along with settlement and release payments totaling three hundred eleven thousand, eighty-nine dollars and fifty-three cents ($311,089.53).”
The additional eight months of severance pay could bring the total compensation tied to Ms. Wu’s departure close to or even exceed $1 million.
Mayor Liang Chao was quoted in the June 9 release, stating that “leadership transitions are never easy—but at times, they are necessary to ensure the city remains stable, transparent, and responsive.”
The Mayor’s quoted commitment to transparency stands at odds with a clause in the separation agreement stating that “THE CITY agrees to discontinue any and all investigations into the conduct of EMPLOYEE that may be underway, and to destroy or cause to be destroyed any and all workpaper, notes, and reports of any such investigations, and to direct the independent investigator to do the same.”
With so few details provided behind the move to sever ties with Ms. Wu, the public is left searching for an explanation for why taxpayers are funding an expensive severance and compensation package for a City Manager appointed less than three years ago.
Questions also remain about the City’s process for hiring a replacement. The June 9 release made no mention of next steps, though the final appointment will ultimately require a Council vote.