By Lookout Staff

March 14, 2016 -- Assistant City Manager Elaine Polachek, a veteran administrator who leads Santa Monica's economic efforts, is among 77 women from Assembly districts across the state scheduled to be honored in Sacramento Monday.

Polachek -- who supervises eleven city departments -- was selected by Assembly member Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) as the 2016 “Woman of the Year” for the 50th Assembly District. Organized by the Legislative Women’s Caucus, the 30th annual awards "celebrate the contributions to society by remarkable women throughout the state," officials said.

“Ms. Polachek demonstrate the intelligence, integrity, and resolve that we all look for in a public servant,” Bloom said. “But more than that, as a woman in city leadership, she has been a trailblazer in what has traditionally been a male-dominated profession.

"She is an inspiration for woman of all ages as our society continues to break down barriers and inequalities,” said Bloom, who served on the Santa Monica City Council for 13 years before being elected to the State Assembly in 2012.

In her current role, Polachek "focuses on developing, enhancing, and sustaining relations with residents and key business partners such as the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. and the Pier Corporation, according to City officials.

A resident of the City of West Hollywood, Polachek has worked at City Hall for for 27 years and held several key positions, including Deputy City Manager, Director of Community Maintenance and Open Space Manager.

“I’m deeply touched by Assembly member Bloom’s invitation to represent the 50th District as Woman of the Year,” Polachek said. “It’s been an honor to serve the community of Santa Monica for 27 years, and receiving this acknowledgment with the other distinguished women being recognized is a hallmark in my career.”

It is not the first time Polachek has been recognized for her service to the City. In 2014, she was among the municipal leaders who received the John H. Nail Award from the League of California Cities for having "contributed significantly to their city and to the advancement of the community as a whole," officials said.

Before joining the City, Polachek served as vice president of marketing at the Pacific Design Center, as well ass in management positions with the Province of Ontario and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona.

After the Santa Monica Pier was battered during a series of devastating storms in 1983, Polachek played a key role in its restoration, serving as Operations Manager for the Pier Restoration Corporation from 1984 to 1995.

Polachek holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

For more information about the Woman of the Year Event and the history of the California Legislative Woman’s Caucus you can visit http://womenscaucus.legislature.ca.gov