Anne GeggisFaye Johnson’s departure comes after seven years and before voters select the city’s next strong mayor.
The city’s top administrator, Faye Johnson, is leaving her job Jan. 15, almost seven years to the day since becoming the first woman and first African American to take the position.
Johnson’s departure comes at a time of major change at the top of Palm Beach County’s biggest municipality as Mayor Keith James steps down in March because of term limits, setting the stage for a heated campaign for mayor. Historically, the mayor selects the city administrator.
Johnson, a low-key figure on the dais, has not publicly announced her departure, but Commissioner Christy Fox and others confirmed it. No immediate successor has been designated — staffing is up to the mayor, who is in Barcelona, Spain, this week for the Smart City Expo World Congress.
The city has a deputy administrator, Jose-Luis Rodriguez.
Johnson couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday and is out of the office until Nov. 16, a city spokesperson said.
Johnson became the city’s interim administrator in 2019 when the city’s top administrator was entangled in a texting scandal involving a city employee. She took over as administrator the next year.
Her departure will come a little more than three months before James leaves office after eight years as the city’s strong mayor and just as a new law that is expected to drastically affect city budgets statewide, called Amendment 3, goes into effect.
Johnson, 68, has been in and out of city offices since 1986. In 1991, then-Mayor Nancy Graham plucked her from the planning department to become the city’s first Black female department head, leading the Housing and Community Development Department.
She has also served in executive positions for Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach County and St. Lucie County. She returned to West Palm Beach, where she grew up as one of 10 children, in 2019 as deputy city administrator.
Johnson’s boss at the time, City Administrator Jeff Green, was asked to resign from his position a few months after James became mayor. Johnson alerted James to a “graphic photo” that Green knew had been sent to a city employee, The Palm Beach Post reported at the time.
James named Johnson interim administrator and gave her the full title after a national search in January 2020.
“She is someone who leads by example and possesses great ethical character and principles,” James said, noting her childhood in the city’s Pleasant City neighborhood. “She is someone with a very long and distinguished career as a public servant, a career that started right here … and now comes full circle.”
Johnson, unlike most city managers in Florida, reports directly to James, who is the only Palm Beach County mayor who serves as the CEO of the city.
Johnson’s departure comes as the city is headed for big changes. James and Commissioner Joe Peduzzi are leaving office because of term limits and Commissioner Shalonda Warren is heading into her final term if she chooses to run for reelection.
At least four people have announced they are running for mayor, including former City Commissioner Christina Lambert and County Commissioner Gregg Weiss. Candidate qualifying ends at noon Nov. 17.
The new group on the dais will have to negotiate a more challenging fiscal reality. Voters this week approved Amendment 3, which vastly expands homestead exemptions for residents.
The city is expected to lose nearly $32 million a year in property tax revenue by the second year under Amendment 3. The city is expecting to raise about $161 million this year from property taxes.
Johnson’s departure comes on the heels of other exits.
“That leaves us with one assistant city administrator in a big, busy city,” said longtime resident Nancy Pullum, noting that another assistant city administrator, Armando Fana, left in September.
