The City Manager Newsletter

The newsletter is authored by former City Manager Jack A. Simpson. You may see the entire newsletter and all back issues without cost here.

After serving 6-month as the Interim City Manager, Tim Hults has been appointed San Jacinto City Manager.  He first came to San Jacinto in 1991 as a Senior Planner, and rose to the Assistant City Manager post.  He took over following the retirement of City Manager Barry McClellan.

Discovery Bay is an unincorporated “boating” community of some 17,000 people in Contra Costa County.  Richard “Rick” Howard, 50, is the new General Manager of the Discovery Bay Community Services District.  He replaces Virgil Koehne, who has held the post for the past dozen years, and will stay on as the Water and Wastewater Manager.  Rick most recently served as the Deputy Executive Director for the North County Transit District in Oceanside, and was a long-time Assistant City Manager in Mission Viejo.

Rancho Cucamonga Management Analyst and Acting Utility Operations Manager  Erica Darplee has resigned her Rancho Cucamonga position to accept an employment opportunity with the Energy Supply & Management Division of the Southern California Edison Co. We wish her well.  Public management’s loss is SCE’s gain.

American Canyon City Clerk Dorothy Roadman is the new Napa City Clerk starting in July, 2010.  Richard Ramirez is the American Canyon City Manager and Mike Parness holds the post in Napa.

Former planning consultant Tim Miller has been appointed Interim City Administrator in Sonora taking over for the outgoing City Manager Greg Applegate.  Tim will serve for 6 months and then the Council will evaluate his service to determine whether to retain  him or open a recruitment search.  Tim is a former Community Development Director in the Cities of Los Banos and Atwater.

Cudahy City Manager George Perez said that what has happened in Maywood is sad to see and could have been avoided.  Maywood disbanded its police department effective July 1.

Ken Bayless, Executive Director for the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District, is Vice President of the Mosquito & Vector Control Association of California. The President is Jerry Davis of the Turlock Mosquito Abatement District.  Ken is a retired Chief in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The MVCAC Summer meeting is planned for July 22, 2010 at the Courtyard Marriott, Sacramento.

Jay R. Johnson, a Long Beach Police Department Commander, has been appointed Chief of Police in Newport Beach.  He will take over for Interim Chief Robert Luman, who came out of retirement to serve as “Interim.”  The Newport Beach City Manager is Dave Kiff.

Teri Lara of the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority has retired.  Her duties and responsibilities are now assigned to Jennifer Fullerton.

San Jose City Manager Debra Figone has announced the appointment of William “Willie” McDonald, 52, to be the next San Jose Fire Chief.  During the past 17-years, “Chief Willie” previously served as Fire Chief in San Mateo, Foster CityFremont, as wells as in Scottsdale, Arizona. He takes over for Chief Darryl Von Raesfeld, who is retiring after 33-years of fire service. and

La Habra City Manager Don Hannah once worked with Frank G. Tripepi in his City Manager days.

Former Fontana Public Works Director Jon “Curtis” Aaron has been the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer for the North Tahoe Public Utility District since 2008.

Former Ontario and Lomita City Manager Michael O’Connor is currently the Executive Director of the Salton Sea Authority with offices in Indio.

Paramount Community Services Director Vince Torres was recently honored as the outgoing President of the Community Family Guidance Center Board of Directors.

Former Walnut City Manager Bob Dickey, a very good left-handed racquetball player and golfer, who served on city staffs in Signal Hill, Rosemead and Bell Gardens, spent 10-years with SCE, and is currently the Director of Public Works in South Gate, will retire in August, 2010.

Palm Springs City Manager David Ready has joined the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors prompting some Chamber members to express fear that City Hall has too much influence inside the Chamber. You are either criticized for not participating or for participating…can’t win!

Santa Monica Assistant City Manager Jennifer Phillips has resigned after an 18-month tenure. City Manager Rod Gould has indicated he is promoting Deputy City Manager Elaine Polacheck to the ACM post.

Al Holliman, a former Economic Development consultant principal with Urban Futures, Inc., is the new “part-time” Assistant City Manager in the City of La Puente, where Josi Mendez Kenline is City Manager.

Galt City Manager Jason  Behrmann served as Assistant City Manager under City Manager Ted Anderson.  Prior to joining the Galt staff he work in Dublin, San Luis Obispo and in Bloomington, Indiana.  He has a BA from Brigham Young University and an MPA from Indiana University.

Long Beach Economic Development and Cultural Affairs Bureau Manager Robert Swayze will leave his post in August to become the Executive Vice President of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC).

After stints as City Manager in Mt. Shasta and Interim City Manager in Orland, Joe Rikers went home to Oregon to be the Shady Cove City Manager.

Gerald Forde is the current Huron City Manager, which was founded in 1877 and incorporated in 1951. Jerry is a former McFarland, Livingston and Firebaugh City Manager, and loves to surf.

Englander Knabe & Allen have been retained by the City of Ontario to help explore the option of resuming control of L.A./Ontario International Airport.  Ontario City Manager Chris Hughes notes that the firm has the “depth of knowledge” needed on the subject to work with the other interested public agencies.

Diamond Bar City Manager James DeStefano has been working on a deal to move the city organization into a city-owned city hall facility.  It has been leasing from the AQMD.

Coquille, Oregon’s City Manager Terence  E. O’Connor served as the Assistant City Manager in Brawley in 1991 and 1992.