Editors’ note: A version of this story first appeared on Pleasanton Weekly.
East Bay Regional Park District General Manager Sabrina Landreth stepped down Nov. 6, the district announced following a special board meeting Saturday morning. Her deputy Max Korten has been installed as acting general manager.
Landreth’s sudden departure came two days after her performance was the subject of a closed-session evaluation during the board of directors’Â regular meeting, which included push back from Landreth on multiple proposals in open session.Â
Landreth issued a press release Sunday morning, saying the board asked her to take actions that would violate the law and harm her reputation.
The statement, issued by Sam Singer, a prominent public relations consultant whose clients include Chevron, said EBRPD elected directors “demanded she take actions —which she refused — that would have violated open government and personnel laws, and harmed her professional and personal reputation.” She did not provide specifics of the circumstances.
She said she is mulling legal action against her now-former employer.
“The Board was demanding that I compromise my integrity and values. I would not do that,” she said. “I stand by my values and my reputation as a professional administrator for the past twenty-five years.”
Formerly city administrator in Oakland and city manager in Emeryville, Landreth was hired by EBRPD in March 2021 to become the 10th permanent general manager in district history and the first woman to hold the position overseeing the largest regional park system in the U.S.
In a three-paragraph news release late Saturday morning, district officials praised Landreth for “coming into the position during the pandemic and immediately working tirelessly to improve the Regional Parks, make key acquisitions including Point Molate in Richmond, and ensure parks are accessible and welcoming to all members of the community. Under Landreth, the Park District modernized and strengthened the agency’s leadership infrastructure, assembling talent across all Divisions to ensure the agency is well positioned for a bright future.”
“The Board of Directors is incredibly thankful for Ms. Landreth’s service and her numerous substantial contributions to the operations of the Park District,” Board President John Mercurio said in the release.
But tensions ebbed and flowed during the five-hour public portion of the board’s regular meeting on Nov. 4 in Oakland.
The tone of the two-hour-plus closed session earlier that day remains known only to those officials in the room. Landreth’s performance evaluation and a conference on labor negotiations were the two items on the agenda.
Landreth was present for the full public session, which started out with three EBRPD employees speaking during open comment to criticize the district’s return-to-work policy and advocate for telecommuting flexibility.
Two of Landreth’s proposals on the consent agenda, items deemed routine and typically automatically approved, were pulled to be discussed, receiving pushback from multiple directors.
The board ultimately approved, in split votes, with either abstentions or outright oppositions, the general manager’s requests to hire San Leandro city clerk Kelly B. Clancy as EBRPD’s new board clerk and to approve the creation of a new board services program supervisor position.Â
Landreth resigned as general manager two days later. EBRPD declined to immediately release Landreth’s resignation letter.
In her statement issued Sunday morning, Landreth said she “could not perform my job under a Board of Directors which was not exercising appropriate governance and operates without adequate checks and balances.”
“I am proud of my accomplishments during my EBRPD tenure,” Landreth added. “There were many projects I had started and am disappointed not to complete because my time was cut short by the Board.”
After the resignation, the directors called a special meeting for 8:30 a.m. Saturday, at which they appointed Korten as acting general manager. “Next steps on the hiring process are yet to be determined,” the district said in its news release.
Korten joined EBRPD in October 2024 as deputy general manager after working for 10 years at Marin County Parks, including nearly eight years as director and general manager. An an East Bay resident, Korten previously worked with the Conservation Corps North Bay, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service.
He is now tasked with being the stopgap leader for EBRPD, which manages 73 parks, 55 miles of shoreline and more than 1,330 miles of trails in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and has its own police and fire departments.
