City Manager,  Midori Lichtwardt 

About Midori Lichtwardt 

After serving as the Interim City Manager since May 30, 2023, Midori Lichtwardt was appointed as Tracy’s permanent City Manager on December 19, 2023. She is proud to be our FIRST permanent City Manager promoted from within the organization.

Midori began her career in local government in an entry-level Public Works Department position in 1998. After a year, she transitioned to the Human Resources Department where she served as a Human Resources Technician, was later promoted to Senior Human Resources Analyst and then became the Human Resources Manager. In 2016, she became the Director and was charged with reinstituting Human Resources as a department after a short stint as a division within the Administrative Services Department.

Midori is credited with building strong partnerships throughout our organization. In 2016, she oversaw a contentious labor negotiations process, which tested the strength of those partnerships, but ultimately resulted in ratified contracts while preserving her good working relationships with the labor groups.

On May 1, 2018, Midori proudly stepped into a new role as Interim Assistant City Manager. She worked alongside the City Manager to carry out City Council’s strategic priorities and ensured the overall operations of the City ran smoothly. Midori played a key role in facilitating the coordination of the City Council agenda reports between all City departments and the City Clerk’s Office before they were presented to Council for consideration.

In November of 2018, Midori was appointed as one of two permanent Assistant City Managers. She oversaw Business Services, which included Economic Development, City Clerk’s Office, the Grand Theatre/Cultural Arts, and Public Relations/Communications. She assisted with the transition of the City’s Fire Department into a Joint Powers Authority (South San Joaquin County Fire Authority) that now provides regional fire prevention and suppression services to the City of Tracy and surrounding areas. She also coordinated the implementation of several technology upgrades, including new Council agenda management software and the procurement of an upgraded website content management system.  

Midori has a strong background in labor negotiations, executive recruiting, classification and compensation, risk management, training and employee development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from San Jose State University and is a member of the International City/County Management Association and League of California Cities.

The City of Tracy operates under a Council-Manager form of government. The City Manager is appointed by the City Council and serves as the Chief Administrative Officer, charged with implementing the City Councils strategic vision and priorities. Council policy and directives are established by a majority vote of the body, unless otherwise required by state law. The City Manager is responsible for directing the day-to-day operations of the organization and ensures Citywide policy and program implementation.  The City Manager proposes and administers the annual budget; makes reports and recommendations to the Council about the needs of the City; responds to Council and constituency inquiries; administers a comprehensive and equitable personnel system; and promotes City services and awareness through various communication channels.

The City Manager’s Office provides executive leadership and oversight of City programs and operations in accordance with the policies and vision of the Tracy City Council. The City Council has identified the following strategic priorities and goals for our community, which we are dedicated to achieving:    

Quality of Life

Economic Development

Governance

Public Safety

Please stay connected to the City of Tracy through our public meetings and various social media channels. Submit services requests here. 

The City Manager is supported by Executive Assistant Sheena Stephens: (209) 831-6115.