Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry turned in her letter of resignation on Friday and will step down on Nov. 21, four years after being hired by the city.
Curry was selected by the Gainesville City Commission as interim city manager in October 2021 after previous city manager Lee Feldman tendered his resignation on Sept. 13, 2021. She started her role in November 2021and the City Commission finalized her permanent hiring on Feb. 2, 2023.
“After thoughtful reflection, I believe this is the appropriate time to transition leadership and allow for new vision to guide the organization forward,” Curry wrote in her letter. “It has been the honor of my career to serve the people of Gainesville and to work at the direction of the City Commission in pursuit of excellence, accountability and innovation in local government.”
Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward said the City Commission will work toward finding an interim city manager before Nov. 21 so the new person can work with Curry and ensure a smooth transition.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with City Manager Cynthia W. Curry,” Ward said in a statement. “Her professionalism, work ethic and experience have set a new standard here at Gainesville’s City Hall.”
In her letter, Curry cited multiple items that she felt the city had made meaningful progress in. They covered fiscal stewardship and transparency that included the city’s upgraded credit rating by Fitch Ratings to AA in 2024, clean financial audits in 2023 and 2024 from external auditor Purvis, Gray & Company and balanced budgets during her tenure.
In gun violence prevention, Curry said she helped organize the regional Gun Violence Prevention Summit, helped launch IMPACT GNV to reduce gun violence through community partnerships with schools, nonprofits and justice-involved individuals, and coordinated the Community Gun Violence Prevention Alliance and One Nation One Project, the city’s arts and wellness initiative.
In traffic safety and Vision Zero, she secrured $8 million in street grants to redesign four miles of University Avenue and finished an $18.8 million multimodal connector on SW 62nd Boulevard to improve neighborhood safety, mobility and accessibility.
Other items that Curry was involved with during her tenure included the Downtown Ambassador Program, the 8th Avenue and Waldo Road Complex, the East Gainesville Health and Economic Development Initiative (EHEDI) that included the opening of the UF Health Urgent Care Center — Eastside in August 2024, and bringing back the “A Very GNV Holiday Parade” in December 2023.
“I am deeply grateful to the dedicated community builders across every department of our organization,” Curry wrote in her letter. “It has been my privilege to lead this exceptional team of public servants who bring skill, commitment and care to the delivery of services and the strengthening of neighborhoods. Together, we have faced financial challenges, legislative shifts and organizational restructuring—and through it all, we’ve centered the needs of Gainesville’s neighbors and communities.”
Will this be the first of many following the DOGE audit?
WOW, talk about bad timing. With the state looking at the books to see if they were cooked and things that I’ve always question if they were legal that the city has done. It just looks like somebody is running to save their skin. (I wonder how many more will be leaving?)
Why does my gut keep saying: Gainesville is so screwed.
You get what you elect
Harvey – whoever “sings” first always gets the sweetest deal. Hope your friend, Cynthia keeps that in mind. Auditors follow the money trail.
But nowhere does it say why she resigned. Did she get a better offer or is it too much of a struggle to deal with City commissioners
She came out of retirement to fill in when Lee Feldman resigned and has stayed on for four years.
She lasted longer than most who report to our dysfunctional comission
Def a dei hire / promotion. This city is very poorly managed especially considering the ridiculously high property tax rate. Residents do not get much for that tax dollar comparably speaking. I have resided in cities of equal size that are better managed. The city of Gainesville wastes $millions$ on an antiquated bus system. Spending out of control.
And lets face the reality the GRU utilities mafia runs this city. That’s right- i said it bc it’s true.
Consecutive clean audits by independent outside auditors. Increased credit rating. Doesn’t exactly fit your narrative. Looks like serious people doing real work instead of the DOGE political performance theater.
Now GPD can arrest fleeing felons entering a church without being admonished.
Actually – I say “Why not?”. They endanger society and should not rely on any semblance of asylum.JustSayNo. Do the crime expect to get caught, Son.
I bet Cynthia’s got some splaining to do.
God didn’t rest on the 7th Day – He created criminal law attorneys. Hope she has retainer money because this is going to be good and she better hire the best. Pass the popcorn…
Cynthia doesn’t have to explain anything because she can take care of herself!
4 years is plenty at this type of very political job, and yes I am sure having DeSantis hate Alachua County doesn’t help