Dr. Arlington Rodgers, Director, Public Works, City of Carson

Carson, CA — When Dr. Arlington Rodgers talks about public works, he doesn’t begin with engineering jargon or budgets. He talks about people.

“Public Works is central to quality of life for residents,” Rodgers said during a recent interview with the Carson Compass. “Everything that functions throughout the day-to-day life for residents, businesses and visitors, is under the Public Works supervision.”

Since joining the City of Carson in 2023, Rodgers has become one of the city’s most visible department heads, regularly attending town halls while overseeing projects that touch nearly every aspect of daily life, from roads and sidewalks to traffic signals and city facilities.

“It can be pretty daunting at times,” he said. “But you get to see the effects of your labor almost immediately, and you get to see the residents appreciate your hard work.”

Rodgers’ journey to public service began in the military.

“How I got into local government was I was in the military,” he said. “I was coming off active duty and got into the reserves and ended up getting into local government and started off as an analyst in a public works department, which was similar to what I did in the military.”

He worked his way up through the profession, eventually becoming a director.

Rodgers oversees Engineering, Operations, Facilities, Fleet Services and Right of Way functions. He also has extensive experience securing grants and improving operations across local government.

Many of the concerns residents bring to him are straightforward, saying that potholes are the “number one” issue that residents approach him with.

He said the city has aggressively tackled street repairs.

“For the last year and a half, I think we’re at about 70% of the city,” Rodgers said. “Roads have been taken care of.”

He added that Carson has removed “probably about 40% of the city’s tripping hazards on sidewalks” and implemented strategies that reduced street takeovers by roughly 70%.

Residents sometimes question why nearby streets receive upgrades first. Rodgers said the city relies on data rather than politics.

“The methodology that we use is something in the industry called PCI, or Pavement Condition Index,” he said. “What we set out to do was take care of the worst streets first.”

Transparency, he said, is equally important.

“I have attended pretty much every single town hall that each council member has had since my arrival here in 2023,” Rodgers said. “And I’ve been able to kind of address those concerns in real time with the residents.”

The city even established a paving hotline to answer residents’ questions.

“We’re not even getting any calls to that hotline anymore because we’ve really moved fast and we have taken care of a lot of streets,” Rodgers said.

Looking ahead, Rodgers said he is particularly excited about Carson’s citywide streetscape initiative.

“We’re going to change the entire streetscape of the city of Carson,” he said. “It’s going to change the look of Carson to help it still be the jewel of the South Bay.”

Rodgers credits his mother with shaping his commitment to service.

“She was actively engaged in public service, civic duty, and she instilled that into us as kids,” he said.

He said she taught him that “if you put your name on it, it should be the best there is.”

Rodgers also spent 25 years in the United States Army before retiring and later earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from California Baptist University.

Asked what advice he would give young people, especially young Black residents considering careers in public service, Rodgers emphasized perseverance.

“Just because the pathway to your journey may take twists and turns, it doesn’t mean you won’t reach your desired goal,” he said. “So hang in there, persevere, and don’t ever quit on your dream.”

For Rodgers, public works is ultimately about more than infrastructure. It’s about service, accessibility and investing in the people who call Carson home.