After two months in an interim role, Harry Black has officially been appointed to serve as Vallejo city manager for a five-year term.

“We are going to win,” he told the room after the Vallejo City Council’s vote Tuesday. Black was appointed by the council in a 6-1 vote, with District 5 representative Peter Bregenzer casting the lone dissenting vote.

The appointment makes Black one of the highest-paid officials in the city, with a $340,432 annual salary, a $500 monthly car stipend and a $3,000 monthly housing payment.

Most City Council members think he is worth it.

“I don’t feel it’s a honeymoon period,” said City Council member Helen-Marie “Cookie” Gordon, who represents District 6. “I really believe that you are genuine and you want to see Vallejo flourish and go to a higher, elite position.”

Mayor Andrea Sorce agreed, calling Black a “values fit” for the city and an effective administrator. “To be able to get both in the same person in this high-need moment is something this council really appreciates,” Sorce said.

Meanwhile, Bregenzer said he was troubled by how Black’s appointment was decided.

“You’re totally qualified for this position,” Bregenzer said. “But I feel that there has been a major lack of transparency in how all of this unfolded.”

“We did not get any community partner input; we did not get any staff input. We’re just going based on a gut feeling that we have,” he said.

In his résumé, Black cites success in building housing, expanding homeless shelters and securing private funding — priorities that could appeal to cash-strapped Vallejo.

In June, Black led the city through a “lean and mean” budget with a $31.8 million deficit only weeks after becoming interim city manager following Andrew Murray’s early departure from the role in May.

In January 2025, after nearly five years as Stockton’s city manager, Black resigned under the threat of firing following the election of a mayor who had previously criticized him.

Before working in Stockton, Black served as city manager in Cincinnati and chief financial officer in Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia.