Retiring City Manager Miguel Márquez Joins Friday’s Episode of “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman” for an Exit Interview

Pasadena Now, 12/23/2025

Pasadena Media’s award-winning local TV talk show “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman” continues this Friday at 5 p.m., featuring guest Miguel Márquez, who recently announced his retirement as Pasadena City Manager after more than three years.

 

Before coming to Pasadena, Márquez served as the Chief Operating Officer and county counsel of Santa Clara County and as a justice on California’s Sixth District Court of Appeals. He was also the general counsel of the San Francisco Unified School District, and a deputy city attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. Márquez appeared on Chapman’s show when he was first hired as City Manager in 2022, when it was known as “NewsRap Local.”

 

“Pasadena Monthly” airs at 5 p.m. PT on the fourth Friday of every month on Pasadena Media’s Arroyo Channel and streaming apps, available on channel 99 on AT&T U-verse, channel 32 on Charter Spectrum, YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. The show is written, hosted and produced by Chapman, directed and edited by Jeffrey Stanfill, supervised by producer Jasiri Jenkins-Glenn, executive produced by Chris Miller and chief executive produced by George Falardeau, CEO and executive director of Pasadena Media.

 

“‘Pasadena Monthly’ is must-watch television each month for everyone who cares about this city,” Falardeau said.

 

Last year, “Pasadena Monthly” won a 1st place award in the Talk Show category at the Alliance for Community Media West’s WAVE (Western Access Video Excellence) Awards. Chapman also won a 3rd place journalism award in the Talk/Public Affairs category of the LA Press Club’s 66th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards, for hosting “Pasadena Monthly.” He has won a dozen LA Press Club journalism awards, including three 1st place awards. His other TV show, “Well Read with Justin Chapman,” won a 1st place Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media this year.

 

In June, Chapman was a finalist in the Local Political/Government Reporting (Broadcast) category of the LA Press Club journalism awards for “Pasadena Monthly.” He won a 3rd place journalism award for “Well Read” in the LA Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards earlier this month.

 

Guests on “Pasadena Monthly” (and its previous iteration, “NewsRap Local”) have included Congress member Judy Chu; Congress member Adam Schiff; Assembly member Chris Holden; Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo; Pasadena city manager Miguel Márquez; LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger; JPL director Dr. Laurie Leshin; former Congress member Katie Hill; and many others.

 

Chapman was the youngest elected official in LA County when he served on the Altadena Town Council at age 19. He has served on a number of local boards and wrote hundreds of articles for dozens of print and digital publications, including KPCC/LAistAlta JournalHuffington PostLA Weekly, Irish PostBerkeley Political ReviewPasadena Weekly, Pasadena Star-NewsPasadena Now and many others. He is the author of Saturnalia and Paradise Springs. He was a professional child actor who starred in dozens of movies, TV shows, commercials and plays. He previously served as Communications Officer for USC Annenberg’s Pacific Council on International Policy think tank and currently serves as the District 6 Council Liaison/Field Representative to Pasadena Councilmember Steve Madison.

 

Learn more at justindouglaschapman.com and pasadenamedia.org.


Read the November 2025 issue of Justin Chapman's free Substack email newsletter, featuring the video of Sid Kirkpatrick's memorial, the French language version of Justin's book Paradise Springs, the latest episode of "Well Read with Justin Chapman" featuring an interview with James Bond continuation author Raymond Benson, the latest episode of "Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman" featuring an interview with author and Pasadena Police Department's Senior Communications Coordinator Susana Porras, book recommendations, and more.

https://justinchapman.substack.com/p/justins-newsletter-november-2025


Justin Chapman writes, produces, and hosts an award-winning monthly TV talk show on Pasadena Media's TV channel, called "Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman," formerly known as "NewsRap Local with Justin Chapman." The thirty-fifth episode aired Friday, November 28, 2025, and featured a discussion with Susana Porras, author, community organizer, and Pasadena Police Department Senior Communications Coordinator. Watch the full episode below:




Author Susana Porras to Appear on “Monthly with Justin Chapman”

Pasadena Now, 11/25/2025

Pasadena Media’s award-winning local TV talk show “Pasadena Monthly with Justin Chapman” continues this Friday at 5 p.m., featuring guest Susana Porras, an author, community organizer, and Pasadena Police Department Senior Communications Coordinator.

 

Porras published her second and third books this year: Danny’s Trails: Mossley, England and Love in the Time of Hate. Both chronicle her travel adventures at home and abroad. As the former Council District 3 Liaison for the late Councilmember John J. Kennedy, Porras played a key role in supporting public and private developments such as the 10 West Walnut Historic Monument, Playhouse Park, and Vallarta Supermarkets. She holds an M.A. in Sociology and a B.A. in French from CSULA. Fluent in French and Spanish, she has lived in both France and Guatemala.

 

“Pasadena Monthly” airs at 5 p.m. PT on the fourth Friday of every month on Pasadena Media’s Arroyo Channel and streaming apps, available on channel 99 on AT&T U-verse, channel 32 on Charter Spectrum, YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. The show is written, hosted and produced by Chapman, directed and edited by Jeffrey Stanfill, supervised by producer Jasiri Jenkins-Glenn, executive produced by Chris Miller and chief executive produced by George Falardeau, CEO and executive director of Pasadena Media.

 

“‘Pasadena Monthly’ is must-watch television each month for everyone who cares about this city,” Falardeau said.

 

Last year, “Pasadena Monthly” won a 1st place award in the Talk Show category at the Alliance for Community Media West’s WAVE (Western Access Video Excellence) Awards. Chapman also won a 3rd place journalism award in the Talk/Public Affairs category of the LA Press Club’s 66th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards, for hosting “Pasadena Monthly.” He has won a dozen LA Press Club journalism awards, including three 1st place awards. His other TV show, “Well Read with Justin Chapman,” won a 1st place Hometown Media Award from the Alliance for Community Media this year.

 

In June, Chapman was a finalist in the Local Political/Government Reporting (Broadcast) category of the LA Press Club journalism awards for “Pasadena Monthly.” He is nominated for another journalism award for “Well Read” in the LA Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, which will take place next month.

 

Guests on “Pasadena Monthly” (and its previous iteration, “NewsRap Local”) have included Congress member Judy Chu; Congress member Adam Schiff; Assembly member Chris Holden; Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo; Pasadena city manager Miguel Márquez; LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger; JPL director Dr. Laurie Leshin; former Congress member Katie Hill; and many others.

 

Chapman was the youngest elected official in LA County when he served on the Altadena Town Council at age 19. He has served on a number of local boards and wrote hundreds of articles for dozens of print and digital publications, including KPCC/LAistAlta JournalHuffington PostLA Weekly, Irish PostBerkeley Political ReviewPasadena Weekly, Pasadena Star-NewsPasadena Now and many others. He is the author of Saturnalia and Paradise Springs. He was a professional child actor who starred in dozens of movies, TV shows, commercials and plays. He previously served as Communications Officer for USC Annenberg’s Pacific Council on International Policy think tank and currently serves as the District 6 Council Liaison/Field Representative to Pasadena Councilmember Steve Madison.

 

Learn more at justindouglaschapman.com and pasadenamedia.org.