The Hayward City Council named Jennifer Ott City Manager of the City of Hayward on Oct. 21, 2025, welcoming back a proven local government leader to chart a course for Hayward back to fiscal stability.

"The Council and I are thrilled to have been able to bring Ms. Ott back to Hayward at this time," said Mayor Mark Salinas. "We're especially pleased that she returns as an experienced local government leader and a proven City Manager."

Ott first joined Hayward in September 2018 as Deputy City Manager and was later promoted to Assistant City Manager before leaving in November 2022 to become City Manager of the City of Alameda, where she served continually since as that city's chief executive.

"I am very excited to be back with both former and new colleagues and to be working together to meet our immediate challenges and future opportunities," Ott said.

Ott has more than 25 years of experience working on local government issues, especially in Alameda County where she is considered one of its most dynamic civic leaders.

Before her initial service to the City of Hayward from 2018 to 2022, Ott worked for 13 years in numerous capacities for the City of Alameda, which included Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director and Deputy City Manager prior to eventually returning as City Manager.

Earlier, she was Vice President at Economic & Planning Systems (EPS) of Oakland, a leading land-use policy and real estate development consultancy to local governments and private developers.

Ott earned a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Spanish from the University of California, Davis.