New city finance chief on the job

He never imagined when he graduated from St. Francis High School 20 years ago that he’d be returning to La Cañada Flintridge as this city’s new finance director.

Dan Jordan made an impression on city staff during an internship with the city about 15 years ago, and his subsequent academic and career accomplishments garnered him the position as the city’s first director of finance.

“I’m really excited about having Dan here,” said City Manager Mark Alexander, who was also Jordan’s boss during that previous internship.

“Given his background and experience, Dan will be able to help with the review of the city’s finances and assist in the preparation of the budget and other duties. He will bring another dimension to how we’re handling the city’s finances,” Alexander said.

The city is in the process of preparing a mid-year budget review. Although Jordan has only been on the job for about two weeks, he said he’s pretty sure the city’s finances are in good shape.

“I don’t sense anything large, relative to what Mark [Alexander] has dubbed the ‘status quo budget,’ ” Jordan said. “It’s just a matter of looking where you are and adjusting accordingly.”

Jordan is the youngest of four children born to Phil and Marilyn Jordan of Pasadena. His dad is on the board of directors, and his brother John is a history teacher and basketball coach at St. Francis High School. His brother Matt is a business owner in Oregon, and his sister Ellen is married and has two children.

Dan Jordan graduated from St. Francis High School in 1985. He later earned a bachelor’s in political science from the University of California Irvine, and a master’s degree and doctorate in public policy from Claremont Graduate University.

He also received a finance and accounting award from the UCLA and certified government financial manager certification from the Association of Government Accountants.

He married his wife Cynthia in 1998 and the couple has three children, Alex, 6, Andrew, 3, and Peter, 8 months. He enjoys spending time with his family and being a dad, which includes involvement in Alex’s school and driving him to soccer practice. When he has time for other hobbies, he enjoys triathlons and surfing, Jordan said.

Jordan was previously the budget director for the city of Simi Valley. That city’s staff is much larger — with 650 full-time employees and a much larger budget, Jordan said.

Although he enjoyed working in Simi Valley, he’s glad to be working closer to home and he’s excited to be working in an area he cares so deeply about.

“I liked Simi Valley but I wasn’t part of the community — I didn’t grow up there,” Jordan said.

“This is like coming home.”