About
Meet Pat West
Pat West has served as a government official in the Gateway Cities area for the past 39 years, working in both the small contract city and large charter city arena. Pat has held a variety of department head positions and has served as City Manager for 23 of his 39 years in public service.
As quoted in the New York Times on two separate occasions, Pat turned around the fortunes of the cities of Paramount and Long Beach. In 1981, Paramount was recognized by HUD in a Rand Corporation study as the 8th worst (disaster) city in America. Pat found himself living, raising a family and working as the Parks and Recreation Director for a City in major crisis. Committed to turning the City of Paramount around, Pat was ultimately appointed City Manager. He and his team utilized redevelopment, economic tools, and creative zoning to turn Paramount into a model city.
In 2005, Pat was appointed Executive Director of the Redevelopment Agency and Director of Community Development for the City of Long Beach, the 6th largest city in California, at a time when Long Beach was facing its biggest economic crisis in a generation. The aerospace industry, once the dominant economic engine of the region located on hundreds of acres north of the Long Beach Airport, abandoned the region. The loss of jobs was catastrophic. At the same time, another bedrock of Long Beach’s economic foundation, the famous Long Beach Naval Base, adjacent to the Port of Long Beach, was shuttered by the Federal Government. This rocked the City to its core, along with all the unintended consequences, such as high unemployment, blight, reduced tax dollars, and a lack of hope for the City.
Building Great Tomorrows
Having met these challenges head-on, in 2007, Pat was appointed City Manager of Long Beach and, serving in that capacity over the next 12 years, played a significant role in making Long Beach the City it is today; a new skyline, the lowest crime rate in recorded history, and the lowest unemployment rate in decades. During his tenure as City Manager, the City worked to save and build a new County Courthouse in 2012 and built a new $520 million civic center through an innovative Public-Private (P3) financing tool in 2015. This bold move by the City went on to spark the biggest private sector development boon in a generation, which continues today.
Our Clients
Whether you are in the private or public sector, let us help you navigate the world of local and municipal government.
Our Team
The team at PatWest LLC is a loosely affiliated group of retired municipal officials representing all areas of local government, from planning and zoning to public works and public safety. In addition, we have experts in the fields of economic forecasting, public relations and marketing. Most of us have spent our entire careers in the greater Los Angeles region.
Awards & Accomplishments
2020
League of California Cities Wes McClure Award Honoring the California City Manager of Distinction
November 2019
Long Beach NAACP “Lifetime Achievement” award
2019
Rancho Los Cerritos Board of Director and 2020 CSUDH Foundation Board of Director
2003
Chair, City Managers Committee for the California Contract Cities Association
2001 and 2002
Chair, Southeast Los Angeles County City Managers Group
1995-2000
President, City Managers Steering Committee for the Gateway Cities Council of Governments
1999
Chapter author, California Redevelopment Association Resource Handbook on Low Income Housing; creation of low to moderate income housing
1997
Founding Member – Gateway Cities Council of Governments