Trackdown Management’s City Manager Newsletter: Volume No. 13, Issue No. 012
For over 13 years, Jack Simpson’s Trackdown Management has published the City Manager Newsletter. Jack is a retired city manager and former Willdan executive. His newsletter content weaves together the personal side of the profession in California and helps keep the city manager community, especially retired city managers, connected with each other.
Stockton Deputy City Manager Scott Carney has resigned two weeks before new City Manager Harry Black is set to report to succeed City Manager Kurt Wilson, who was dismissed.
Deputy City Manager Christian Clegg has also left Stockton to become the City Manager in Bakersfield. Scott worked nearly two-decades for the State of California, serving in various positions, including appointments by both former Governors Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Scott earned a BA from the University of California, Davis and an MA from the University of California, Berkeley.
Rancho Palos Verdes named longtime planner Ara Mihranian to be the city’s next City Manager. Ara, 50, joined the city staff 21-years ago. He has served as Interim City Manager since City Manager Doug Willmore retired in November. Ara became the Director of Community Development in 2016. He earned a BA in urban planning from Arizona State University.
Kimbra McCarthy is the next City Manager in the City of Mountain View. Kimbra is currently the Assistant City Manager for Administrative Services in Redwood City. She previously worked in Mountain View as Deputy City Manager from 2014-2016. She is expected to start work in Mountain View on March 2.
George Thomson is the Parks and Open Space Manager in the Public Works Department of the City of Goleta. George most recently worked for the City of Santa Barbara. He also served as a Reserve Steward at the University of California’s Coal Oil Point Reserve. He worked 5-years at UCSB’s Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration.
Michelle Green is the Goleta City Manager. Miranda Lutzow has signed an employment agreement with the City of Manteca making her the Interim City Manager through December 31, 2020.
Miranda began her career in 2009 as an Administrative Intern with the City of Patterson, where she worked in Human Resources. In 2010 she went to work as an Aide to the President of California State University, Stanislaus. In 2013, she was appointed Assistant City Clerk in Merced, and in 2015 she took a Management Analyst post in the City of Oakdale. Miranda joined the Manteca staff in October, 2019 as the Administrative Services Director. She earned an MPA from California State University, Stanislaus.
Karen Crocker is the new Director of Community Services in the City of Placentia. Janet has more than 30-years of public service experience. She has worked for the cities of Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, San Juan Capistrano and Aliso Viejo. She also service with the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. Karen is a three-time recipient of the California Parks and Recreation Society (CPRS) Award of Excellence.
Longtime City of Norwalk staff member Kevin Gano passed away after a battle with cancer. Kevin retired after more than 30-years. Kevin worked as a law enforcement officer in West Covina and La Verne starting in 1973. In 1987, he became the Senior Administrative Assistant to the City Manager in the City of Upland. Kevin became the first Norwalk Director of Public Safety in 1989, and retired in April, 2005.
Former Manteca City Manager Tim Ogden is the new City Manager for the City of Brentwood replacing retired City Manager Gus Vina. Tim started his public management career in 2003 as an Administrative Analyst in Modesto. After working in economic development in Ceres and Riverbank, he was appointed City Manager in Waterford in 2011. Tim became the Manteca City Manager in August, 2017. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” Proverbs 18:21
More Pieces Picked Up:
Retired Lake Forest City Manager Robert Dunek is the new Interim City Manager in the City of San Clemente. He is temporarily replacing City Manager James Makshanoff, who left San Clemente to be the City Manager in Pomona. Bob served as the Lake Forest City Manager for 21-years. He began his public service career in 1974 as a Police Officer in the City of Buena Park. He became a Senior Administrative Assistant in Garden Grove in 1979. He worked as the Executive Director of the Orange County Division of the League of California Cities from 1984 to 1989. Bob served as City Manager in Los Alamitos starting in 1989 before taking the City Manager assignment in Lake Forest in 1996. Bob earned a BA from California State University, Fullerton, and an MPA from California State University, Long Beach, and a Doctorate in public administration from the University of Southern California (USC). In 2014 Bob received a 40-year ICMA Service Award.
Marie Ricci is the new Assistant City Manager in the City of Palmdale. Marie fills in behind the promotion of the former ACM J. J Murphy to City Manager following the retirement of City Manager James Purtee. Marie comes to Palmdale from her post as Assistant Chief Financial Officer in the City of Riverside. She earned a BA from the University of California, Riverside and an MPA from California State University, Fullerton.
Stockton Deputy City Manager Christian Clegg is the new Bakersfield City Manager. Christian is the 2016 John H. Nail Award recipient for his work in Stockton. He previously worked in Johnson County, Kansas and with the City of Tacoma, Washington. He earned an MPA from the University of Kansas.
Xenia Bradford is the new City Manager in the City of Solvang. She has been serving as Interim City Manager since City Manager David Gassaway resigned. Xenia came to the city in a consulting capacity, and was appointed Administrative Services Director in April, 2019. She previously worked for the City of San Luis Obispo as the Finance Director. She worked with the County of Santa Barbara before that. She earned a BA and MA from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Upland has a new City Manager: Rosemary Hoerning. Rosemary previously the Public Works Director, and she has been the Interim City Manager since last May. She began her public service career in Ontario in 1986. In 1997 she took a position with Long Beach, and she joined the Upland city staff in 2001. She returned to the city after working in Redlands in 2011 as Public Works Director.
Shorts
Terry L. Stubbings worked as a Senior Administative Analyst in the City of Palmdale 1996, and she later served as the Cotati City Manager starting in November, 2003.
*Lyndsie Buskirk, who earned a BS in marketing from California State University, Long Beach, is an Office Assistant with the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority.
*Kathleen Hatten of the Peak Military Care Network served as a Legislative Deputy with the Los Angeles City Council from 1990 to 1992.
*Retired Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Deputy David Bauchop, husband of longtime Bellflower City Clerk Debra Bauchop (now retired), passed away on January 30, 2020.
*Retired City Manager Keith Till was recently seen on the Diamond Peak slopes by Lake Tahoe.
Originally published by Trackdown Management. Sign up for the City Manager Newsletter for free here.