Laguna Niguel Appoints El Segundo Official as First Permanent City Clerk

LAGUNA NIGUEL — Juanita Zarilla, deputy city clerk for the city of El Segundo, has been appointed Laguna Niguel’s first city clerk, city officials announced this week.

Zarilla, a graduate of UC San Diego, was selected from 35 applicants and will earn about $43,000 a year, said Pamela Van Haun, the city’s acting city clerk and assistant to the city manager. Zarilla has worked with the city of El Segundo for 13 years, Van Haun said.

Former interim City Manager Warren S. Benson, who resigned last month, has served as an interim city clerk since Laguna Niguel’s incorporation in December, 1989.

The city is now interviewing the three remaining candidates for city manager and may announce the appointment of a permanent city manager by the end of this week, said Mayor Patricia C. Bates. Dan Miller, a partner with the accounting firm of Deloitte Touche, is acting city manager.