City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison presented Code Enforcement Officer Andy  Godinez with the July City Manager Leadership Award.

 “Andy is one of the most popular Costa Mesa employees both here at City Hall and in the community,” Farrell Harrison said. “He’s a pure joy to work with and he always greets his fellow employees with a smile. His daily goal is always to serve the community and he often is able to achieve this through simple, kind and informational communication. As someone who grew up in Costa Mesa, we are fortunate to have his institutional knowledge and commitment to the City he loves. I am thrilled to be able to present him with this award.”

Godinez has been working in Costa Mesa since 2008, when he started part time in Parks & Community Services in the afterschool program at Whittier Elementary School, the same school and program he attended growing up on Costa Mesa’s Westside.

He later transferred to the Concierge Desk and worked for the City Clerk’s Office before being promoted to a full-time Code Enforcement Officer in 2018.

From day one, as a Code enforcement officer, Godinez has projected his love for this City, his home.  He has worked feverishly to learn the job.  He is extremely thorough in his approach while maintaining a balanced demeanor when dealing with the public. 

Aside from his duties as a code enforcement officer, he is often sought out by other City departments to help in community engagement meetings where he brings his home town background to make people at ease.

His intuitional knowledge as well as his community involvement has allowed him to be such a positive face forward of the City’s operations that creates a community trust that is often very difficult to achieve.  

Godinez says he enjoys working for Code Enforcement because he likes developing his community. He looks at every resident, business owner and person he encounters in Costa Mesa as his neighbor first.

It is never a dull day in Code Enforcement, from illegal marijuana dispensaries, to CUP enforcement, to hoarding conditions, to substandard living conditions, there is always something interesting to tackle. Godinez considers himself a “nerd” about Costa Mesa’s history, so researching the history of permits and developments in this city are right up his alley.

At the end of the day Godinez is happy to have an opportunity to leave a “thumbprint/huella” on the community and hopefully the service he provides makes a difference.

Godinez is a graduate of Newport Harbor High School and he met his wife Iris, who is also a lifelong Costa Mesa resident and current City employee, while working in Parks.