With former Milpitas Interim City Manager Deanna Santana out of the role as of the end of December 2025, the Milpitas City Council has voted in Police Chief Jared Hernandez to fill the interim position.
The vote took place at the council’s January 20 regular meeting. Hernandez will fill the role until the City finds a new permanent city manager.
In October, after alleging that Councilmember Evelyn Chua violated city procedures in the scheduling of a closed session meeting, Santana said she’d be resigning. She ended up staying until the end of 2025.
Since 2017, the City of Milpitas has had a total of four permanent city managers, along with six different individuals who have served as interim/acting city manager.
Hernandez has been Chief of Police for the past five years, and his service to Milpitas within the police department extends back over the past three decades…
Said Hernandez in a statement, “As a City employee who was also born and raised in Milpitas, it is an honor to be considered for this temporary role, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve our organization and community in this new capacity.”
He added, “Our organization’s reputation precedes us because of the people who serve with passion every day. I am eager to support our employees in this role and to maintain continuity as we move forward together.”
Mayor Carmen Montano sounded a strong vote of confidence for the chief: “Police Chief Hernandez has dedicated his career to serving Milpitas with integrity, professionalism, and a strong sense of community. His leadership experience, collaborative approach, and lifelong connection to our City make him exceptionally well-suited to guide the organization during this transition period.”
The Beat reached out to Hernandez to ask how his first week as acting city manager has been.
“If nothing else, the first week has shown me there aren’t enough hours in the day to be a city manager,” Hernandez responded. “You don’t really see the full picture of city operations until you’re in this seat. And I’ve come away with enormous respect for the staff behind the scenes that make our city so great.”
Outstanding choice. With his background, Chief Hernandez will figure out the job in short order, much like former police chief Charles Lawson did over 20 years ago. It is still about dealing with people, with a lot of administrative BS thrown in. But I am sure that Chief H. can’t wait to get back to his day job.
“Outstanding” was the right word, Jim. Outstanding is THE word of the highest praise a Marine can give another.
I worked with Jared from the first day he was hired (actually even before that) to the day I retired 26 years later.
I could not be more proud.
Well Done
James R Berg,Division Commander, MPD (Ret)
USMC 69-73 – RVN 70-71