The Bridge City City Council has accepted the resignation of City Manager Christopher Baker, marking a leadership change for the city. Baker’s resignation was discussed and formally accepted during the Council’s meeting on August 20, 2024.
“We appreciated the work and the direction that Mr. Baker was headed with the city,” said Bridge City Mayor David Rutledge. “We’re sorry that he left.”
The resignation was addressed during a closed executive session, as outlined under Item 10b on the meeting agenda, which cited Section 551.074 related to personnel matters. Following the closed session, the Council reconvened in an open session and voted to accept Baker’s resignation. In response, the Council appointed Mayor Rutledge as acting City Manager while the search for Baker’s successor begins.
“I’ll sit in this chair until we get the search process going and find somebody,” Rutledge stated. “It’s kind of time-consuming, but we’ll go through that process and find us a viable candidate.”
Christopher Baker was appointed as City Manager in early January 2024. Since his resignation, the city is not required to pay out the remainder of his contract. Due to the personnel nature of the matter, further details regarding Baker’s resignation have not been disclosed.
The city will now be searching for its third City Manager in as many years. Prior to Baker’s appointment on January 2, the role was left vacant for nearly a year following the February 2023 resignation of Brent Walker, who served as City Manager for just over a year.
The City Council is committed to finding a qualified and dedicated candidate to lead Bridge City forward. Further updates will be provided as the search process progresses.
