July 14, 2016
Council taps Michael Castro as next City Manager
MUPRHY (July 14, 2016) Following a comprehensive search for a City Manager, Murphy has selected Michael “Mike” Castro, PhD, currently City Manager of Houston suburb Jersey Village, as the City’s chief administrator. The City Council approved the appointment at a Special Meeting today. Castro will begin on Sept. 12.
A California native, Castro brings more than a quarter century of local government managerial experience to the position. He has served as the chief executive of the Texas communities of Garden Ridge, Stephenville and Jersey Village.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he served five years on active duty as an Army Engineer in Europe and Asia, completing his military career at Ft. Hood. He subsequently earned master’s degrees in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin; Political Science from the University of Houston; and a doctorate in Political Science from the same institution. His doctoral studies concentrated on Public Administration as well as Public Policy and American Government.
Prior to his 11-year assignment as Jersey Village City Manager, he served as City Administrator in Garden Ridge for four years, a similar position in Stephenville for three years, and a year as Assistant City Manager in Longview. The City Administrator position is equivalent to City Manager, responsible for every aspect of the daily operation of a municipality.
Active in civic and service organizations in each of the communities in which he has served, Castro is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Cypress-Fairbanks Rotary Club, Cy-Fair (Cypress-Fairbanks) Hospital Board, Lone Star Community College Advisory Board, Cy-Fair Chamber of Commerce and is active in the Greens Bayou Corridor Coalition, an environmental non-profit. A Credentialed Manager, he is also active in both the Texas City Management Association and the International City/County Management Association.
“I am genuinely excited about the opportunity to work with the staff in Murphy,” he said. “The city is poised to achieve great things, and credit goes to the City Council and staff.”
Castro is married to the former Lisa Ort, a seventh generation Texan and member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. “My wife and I are looking forward to getting to know the community and making Murphy our home,” he said.
Mayor Eric Barna said, "The City Council and staff are extremely impressed with Mr. Castro's background. He is clearly a skilled and respected city manager who will bring a tremendous amount of value to the City. At the same time, we express our sincerest thanks to Bill Shipp for his service in the interim. His steady hand was very much appreciated.”
The Interim City Manager will remain in place until Castro assumes the City Manager duties fulltime.
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