Anaheim city manager resigns, led city during shooting protests

Anaheim’s city manager said that he will resign from his position in Orange County’s largest city, an announcement that comes just days after the police chief announced his retirement.

Bob Wingenroth will leave his post June 7, opting to return to Arizona -- where he’d lived and worked for many years -- and spend more time with his family, according to a statement released by the city Tuesday.

“Life has revealed the beauty and support of our family and extended family in Arizona, and their need for us and our need for them,” Wingenroth said in the statement.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Anaheim and meeting wonderful people throughout the city. I will miss everyone, and I am honored to have been a member of this wonderful community.”

Wingenroth was appointed city manager last summer in the wake of a spate of police shootings that sparked protests and political discontent in the city. He had been in the position on an acting basis since November 2011.

Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait called Wingenroth “a man of integrity, ethics and compassion,” and noting that choosing to leave was a “difficult decision.”

Wingenroth joined the the city in 2010 as finance director, after spending a year in the same position in Huntington Beach. Much of his career, though, was spent in city government in Phoenix. He began his career there in 1980, working his way up to city auditor and finance director.

Anaheim’s police chief, John Welter, said last week that he will retire in May. No successor has been named for either position.

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