Trackdown ManagementTrackdown Management’s City Manager Newsletter: Volume No. 16: Issue No. 8

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.

Picking Up the Pieces

Randy Murphy, the general manager for the Hidden Valley Lake Association, is the new city manager for the City of Solvang. The city manager position had been open since the resignation of City Manager Xenia Bradford in September 2022. Ralph Andersen & Associates provided the city with executive recruitment services. Retired City Manager Brad Vidro served as interim city manager. Randy has been managing the Hidden Valley Lake gated community in Lake County. He previously served as general manager of the Feather River Recreation and Park District. Randy is a former city administrator for the City of Oroville, and he worked as assistant city manager for Tulare.

Los Banos City Manager Josh Pinheiro, 36, has been awarded additional job security requiring a unanimous vote of the city council to dismiss him. He was fired and then rehired in February, eight months after he was fired for undisclosed reasons and former Merced County Administrative Officer Gregory Wellman was appointed interim city manager. Josh received a $1.8 million settlement for a potential wrongful termination action. He has a new four-year employment agreement. Josh was originally hired to replace City Manager Alex Terrazas.

Jim Thorsen served as a senior civil engineer for the City of Simi Valley (1988-1997) before he was hired as the assistant city manager and public works director for the City of Agoura Hills in July 1997. Jim became the Malibu city manager in May 2006. After retiring from Malibu in May 2016, Jim moved to the City of Cherry Hills Village, Colorado and worked as city manager there (June 2016-July 2020). On March 21, Jim was hired as the interim city manager for Cherry Hills Village. Jim earned a BS in civil engineering from Colorado State University and studied public administration at California State University, Northridge.

Brad Raulston, the city manager for the City of National City, went on administrative leave following a performance review. Brad has worked for National City for nearly two decades. He has been city manager since May 2019. Armando Vergara, of the city’s community development group, is the interim city manager. Brad joined the city staff in September 2006 as deputy city manager. He earned a BA in political science and economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MPA from San Diego State University.

Harold Campbell passed away on October 18, 2012, in Santa Rosa, two months after his wife Juanita Campbell passed away at age 87. Harold was 90. Harold and Juanita celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary together in Honolulu, Hawaii. Harold served as city manager in Huntington Park and was interim city manager in Cotati.

San Leandro City Manager Fran Robustelli worked in human resources for the Dublin San Ramon Services District for 16 years (1996-2012). She was the director of human resources in Hayward between March 2010 and March 2014 when she took a similar post with the City of Walnut Creek. Fran was elevated to assistant city manager in August 2015, and in June 2019 she took a similar assistant city manager position with the City of Napa. After serving as interim city manager, Fran was appointed San Leandro city manager in May 2021. She earned a BA in biology from the University of South Florida and a Master’s in Public Affairs from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Fran has also completed certificate programs at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Kennedy School at Harvard University.

Suspended Los Angeles City Council Member Mark Ridley-Thomas, 68, was convicted of federal bribery and conspiracy charges, including mail and wire fraud as a result of a bribery plan that called for him to steer millions of dollars in contracts to the University of Southern California (USC) in exchange for his son receiving a scholarship and teaching position. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August.

Former Ventura City Manager Alex D. McIntyre is the City of San Bruno interim city manager. Alex will start his new management assignment on April 15. Alex served as the Ventura city manager from 2018 until December 2022. He previously served as the city manager in Menlo Park (2012-2018). Alex began his career as a management analyst in Burbank (1985-1988) and assistant to the city manager in Arcadia (1988-1994). From March 1994 to December 1997, Alex worked as a vice president for Norm Roberts & Associates executive recruiters. Alex served as the town administrator in Portola Valley (1997-2000) and town manager in Tiburon (2000-2006). In 2006-2008 he worked as chief assistant county administrator in Marin County, and from 2008 to 2012 Alex served as the city manager in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Alex is among the finalists for the city manager position in Portland, Maine.

Former El Segundo and Thousand Oaks City Manager Scott Mitnick was appointed town manager in the Town of Moraga on March 8. Scott served as Thousand Oaks city manager from May 2005 until July 2016. He joined the city in 2000 after working as the administrative services director in the City of Yuba City. Scott served as the Sutter County administrator from January 2017 to March 2019. He was the El Segundo city manager for nearly three years (2019-2022). After working with the Kosmont Companies for a little more than a year, he was selected to serve as the town manager for the Town of Moraga.

Gaylord Knapp became Cerritos city manager at the age of 30 a year after he joined the city staff as the environmental affairs director. He previously served as the assistant planning director for the City of La Mesa in San Diego County. Cerritos City Manager Arthur A. Gallucci took the job first as interim city manager in March 1991 and he was appointed city manager in April. Art served as assistant city manager for 10 years prior to becoming city manager. He joined the Cerritos city staff in 1971. Art will retire effective on June 30, 2023. He is 81 years old, born in April 1941.

The founder of Urban Futures, Marshall Linn, is a Partner with The Bayshore Consulting Group, Inc. He has been with Bayshore since January 2017. Marshall is a United States Air Force veteran. He earned a BA and MPA from the University of Southern California (USC).

After working as a correctional lieutenant with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department for nearly 16-years (1983-1999), City of Williams City Manager Frank Kennedy became the executive director of the Volunteer Center of Sacramento (2000-2013). In May 2014, Frank took a management analyst position with the City of Williams. He was appointed assistant city administrator in November 2014, and he was elevated to city administrator in April 2015. Frank earned a BA in management from Saint Mary’s College of California.

Former City of Orange City Manager David Rudat (1995-2005), a former Fire Chief, has completed many interim assignments since leaving Orange. While with Orange, Dave served as president of the Orange County City Managers Association. His interim positions include interim deputy county executive officer for Orange County (April 2006-October 2006); interim city manager for Los Alamitos (2007-2008); interim fire chief in the City of Stockton (2010-2011); interim public works director for Modesto (2014-2015); interim city manager for the City of Alameda (2018-2019); and interim fire chief for Stockton (2019-2020). Dave is currently the city manager in the City of Sammamish, Washington where he started as interim city manager in February 2020.

Retired El Cajon City Manager Bill Garrett (1996-2004) who served as the executive director of the California City Management Foundation (2005-2013) is a past president of the Governing Board of the Grossmont-Guyamaca Community College District. Bill is currently a member of the Gossmont-Cuyamaca Community College Personnel Commission. It is a part-time position.

Shorts

  • Adam Pirrie, a UCLA alumnus, joined Claremont city staff in 2003 as an accountant and served as finance director from January 2011 until becoming city manager in October 2020.
  • Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram previously served as community development director from 2014 to 2020.
  • Justin Hess, Burbank city manager and ICMA credentialed manager, is vice president of the board of trustees for the California City Management Foundation (CCMF).
  • Darrell Johnson earned a BA from the University of California, Riverside, and is the chief executive officer for the Orange County Transportation Authority.
  • Carlos Urrutia, a public infrastructure and finance solutions consultant, served as the city manager in Rocklin from August 1984 until his retirement in December 2010.
  • Lisa Pope earned a BS in kinesiology and exercise science from the University of Southern California (USC) and was the city clerk and IT director in the City of Whittier from 2017 to 2019 before becoming the city clerk for the City of Vernon in October 2019.
  • Brad Raulston, city manager for National City since May 2019, earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MPA from San Diego State University.
  • Hans Uslar, a German citizen, started working for the City of Monterey in 1997 after coming to the U.S. as a German naval officer, and became the Monterey city manager in 2018.
  • Former Cerritos City Council Member Bruce Barrows, who was active with the League of California Cities, celebrated a birthday in early April.
  • Ely Hwang, San Leandro recreation and human services manager, earned a BA from the University of Asia and the Pacific of the Philippines and has served in Albany as well as San Leandro.