It looks like Gary Hampton will once again be taking the administrative helm at the City of Turlock.

The Turlock City Council is expected on Tuesday to accept the resignation of City Manager Sue Borrego and then consider the appointment of Hampton to the position of interim city manager.

Borrego, the former interim president of California State University, Stanislaus, was sworn in as deputy city manager in January 2025 and then became interim city manager in May 2025. She filled the position that had been vacant since the retirement of longtime city employee Sarah Eddy in December 2024.

In a letter submitted to the city council, Borrego said that she is resigning as of Feb. 10. She said that she committed to serving in the position for one year and would be willing to stay on a few months as deputy city manager to help in the transition process.

If approved, this will be Hampton’s fifth time serving the City of Turlock, the most recent as interim city manager in 2024.

Hampton served as the city’s chief of police from 2006 to 2011 — he also served as interim city manager starting in 2009, following the firing of then-city manager Tim Kerr — before leaving to become chief of police in Tracy, where he also served as interim assistant city manager and public safety director. 

Hampton returned to Turlock in April 2016 as the city manager, a position he held until his retirement in 2017.

But Hampton’s tenure as city manager ended six weeks before his planned departure; he filed a claim that he was subjected to a hostile work environment by then-Mayor Gary Soiseth, councilmember Matthew Jacob and city attorney Phaedra Norton.

Hampton’s claim stated he was solicited by “an appointed official of the city to engage in unethical activities intended to undermine the 2017 city manager recruitment/selection process.”

In the claim he went on to say that after refusing, he “became the subject of continuous criticism and character attacks by the appointed official and supporters of the official, amounting to a hostile work environment.” 

The claim was settled and the city paid Hampton for lost salary and benefits.

Two years after his departure as city manager, Hampton was back again, this time working in an unpaid special assignments position for the Turlock P.D.

According to the report prepared by city staff for Tuesday’s council meeting, “the performance of the City Manager position requires specialized skills which Mr. Hampton possesses as demonstrated by his service as City Manager prior to his retirement, and his service as Acting City Manager post-retirement. Given the uniqueness of Mr. Hampton’s qualifications to serve as the Interim City Manager, the duration of the appointment pursuant to CalPERS rules, and to ensure the efficient continuation of the City Manager’s duties, it is recommended that section 14.05 ‘Employment of Relatives, Anti-Nepotism Policy and Conflict of Interest Living Arrangements Related to City Employment’ of the City’s Personnel System Rules and Regulations, be suspended and not apply to the City Manager and/or the City Manager’s relatives during the period of Mr. Hampton’s appointment.”

Hampton’s expected wages will be $129.38 per hour with a CalPERS restriction of a maximum amount of hours of 960 per fiscal year.