Interim City Manager Announced In Laguna Beach Tuesday

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — The City of Laguna Beach announced a change in management, after Sean Joyce was appointed as Interim City Manager during Tuesday's city council meeting.

The appointment comes after former City Manager Shohreh Dupuis retired from her position starting Sept. 1, 2023, following a 33-year career in local government.

“Mr. Joyce has a wealth of experience as a City Manager and is the right person to serve as our Interim City Manager during this time of transition for our community and City staff,” Laguna Beach Mayor Bob Whalen said. “We look forward to working with him over the next several months as we undertake the process to recruit and select our next City Manager.”

Joyce, who has over 35 years of municipal government experience under his belt, will temporarily fill the role of City Manager while the city seeks a long-term candidate for the position.

Joyce has held the role of City Manager for the cities of Irvine, South Pasadena and Sierra Madre. Following his retirement in February 2018, Joyce has served as Interim City Managers for the cities of Huntington Beach, San Clemente and South Pasadena.

“I am honored to be asked to serve the City of Laguna Beach as Interim City Manager,” Joyce told Patch. “I will work closely with the City Council and executive leadership during these next few months to ensure a seamless transition and continued forward momentum for City staff, City Council initiatives, and current and future projects.”

Joyce will start his new role on Thursday, Sept. 7, and will not be seeking consideration for the permanent City Manager position, the city said.

Joyce will replace Dupuis after the city announced that it had come to a mutually agreed-upon separation agreement with the former City Manager.

According to a previous Patch report, the agreement was made in response to a hostile work environment claim filed by Dupuis following a "period of conflict with a city council member."