Robert Bobb’s Year as City Manager--A Time of Upheaval

I’m in charge. In the decision - making process, I reserve 51% of the vote. Your time is my time, and my time is the council’s time.

--Santa Ana City Manager

Robert C. Bobb to his staff

at its first meeting, Feb. 6, 1984.

It has been a tumultuous year since Robert C. Bobb took over as Santa Ana city manager, with much of the upheaval linked directly to him. It has been a year of facing up to old problems such as what to do about slums and a multimillion-dollar cable television contract gone awry, a year punctuated by a bitter City Council election, a year of record-shattering investment--almost $220-million worth--in new construction.

Although city officials and business leaders say they expect Bobb’s second year to be at least as energetic and hope it will be less controversial, one thing is certain: Orange County’s second-largest city will never be the same.

“In 1984, the things we did boggle the mind when they’re all viewed together,” said Vice Mayor P. Lee Johnson recently. “Two years ago, when we sent out a proposal we were lucky if we got one person who was halfway interested. Now we get people fighting over projects.”

Bobb, the first black to manage an Orange County city, came to Santa Ana a year ago from Kalamazoo, Mich., and he found many of the features often associated with urban centers in the East and Midwest. As examples, he cited the accumulation downtown of county, state and federal government buildings, housing and unemployment problems and a mix of diverse cultures.

He also discovered deficiencies, he said, such as a lack of “cultural amenities” and the absence of a “strong relationship between city government and major employment institutions.”

In addition, Bobb said, he noticed that the city needs a “focal rallying point” such as Central Park in New York, Bronson Park in Kalamazoo or the pier in Seal Beach. To remedy that, he has proposed the construction of Centerpointe, a 32-story skyscraper that would be Orange County’s tallest building. The object is to “develop a body of cheerleaders . . . and eliminate the inferiority complex that city government and some residents have,” he said.

Despite some obvious successes, Bobb also was dealt some notable setbacks in his first year, failing to win council approval for a proposal to reorganize paramedic services, and failing in his first three attempts to win relocation assistance for tenants displaced by a crackdown on substandard housing.

Some of setbacks can be linked to Bobb’s “not having a clear sense of what the council wants,” according to Mayor Daniel E. Griset.

The council, Griset said, deserves much of the credit for positive changes in the city, such as a building rate more than double anything previously experienced. Bobb, he said, has merely followed the policy direction handed to him by the council. “The key to his success is largely dependent on the kind of clarity the City Council has and its priorities,” he said.

Much of the credit for programs such as housing code enforcement, progress toward the $400-million in improvements to the Fashion Square shopping center and in other redevelopment projects, and the recent settlement of the dispute over the Group W cable television contract can be traced to the council’s having delivered solutions, Griset said. The council “allowed (Bobb) to perform a supporting role to get that done,” he said.

However credit is apportioned, city officials and community leaders agree that one of the major accomplishments of the past year was a crackdown on slum housing. But some said the program, although long overdue, has proceeded too quickly. Since April, inspectors have looked at nearly 2,000 housing units and cited nearly half of them for deficiencies.

Activists’ Complaints

“We won’t accept this type of housing in our community,” Bobb said shortly after coming to Santa Ana. “We’re not there to nit-pick, but we will, in fact, prosecute. We aren’t going to tolerate a situation in which someone comes into the community, acquires a property and then allows that property to deteriorate.”

Soon after the program was launched last spring, however, many community activists began accusing Bobb and housing director Phil Freeland of insensitivity toward slum tenants. Bobb responded by presenting the council with a $100,000 loan plan for displaced tenants, but the proposal, in varying forms, was defeated on three occasions over several months. Then, after the November election of Councilman Wilson B. Hart realigned the council majority, a relocation assistance plan was approved in December.

Johnson called the long battle over relocation assistance “a blood bath” and blamed it largely on what he sees as a tendency on Bobb’s part to move “too fast sometimes. If he would’ve slowed down a little bit, we could’ve put together a package that would’ve passed the first time.”

Approach to Redevelopment

Addressing a charge from many Latino community leaders that racism was an inherent element in the crackdown on slum housing, John Acosta, Santa Ana’s only Latino council member, said he disagrees completely. Bobb “is not anti-Hispanic, definitely not,” and those who would make such charges, Acosta said, “don’t know him.”

Johnson agreed. “Concern for people is one of his greatest strengths,” he said. “Robert Bobb is one of the best friends the Hispanic community has got.”

Many Latino business people, at first suspicious, have come to trust him. “We really didn’t know what to expect,” said Otto Bade, founder and co-owner of Angel’s Comprehensive, the landscaping company that handles Santa Ana’s weed abatement program. Bade, who describes himself as a “very, very conservative man,” said business owners were concerned that Bobb, an outsider, might ride roughshod over their interests in an effort to please the council. Another Latino businessman, Robert D. Escalante, is one of a group of downtown business owners whose firms are in an area earmarked for redevelopment. Last June, he and the other group members approached the council to voice alarm that redevelopment was moving ahead without their interests being taken into consideration.

Shortly thereafter, Bobb announced a novel approach to redevelopment: A request for proposals that had gone to 200 developers for a shopping center in the area was withdrawn, and the existing property owners would be given the chance to develop the center themselves.

Since then, the owners have formed a corporation and the project is moving forward. “Just a few months ago, the city was taking my property away,” Escalante said. “Then he (Bobb) stopped and listened.” Citing “20 years of indifference” to the Latino community that the city manager had to overcome, Escalante said, “If he’s able to do this much in one year, he’ll be awesome in five.”

A second significant achievement is the settlement of the Group W contract dispute, which began when the cable company announced plans last spring to raise rates and reduce service. The dispute came to a head in July when Bobb slapped the firm with a whopping $3.4-million fine that eventually rose to $9.8 million before an out-of-court settlement was reached late last year.

Although Griset downplayed Bobb’s role in the Group W settlement, Councilman Dan Young, a close friend of the mayor, painted a different picture. Young praised Bobb’s negotiating skills, giving him credit for the final agreement.

But Councilwoman Pat McGuigan, who cast the only dissenting vote on the Group W settlement, said she is “disappointed at the whole cable situation.” However, McGuigan said that although she is hesitant to blame or credit Bobb for the settlement, “he was the one who agreed to it.”

Most observers agree that Bobb’s biggest defeat during his first year in Santa Ana was his inability to persuade the council to go along with a plan to place paramedic operations in private hands, a move that Bobb said could save the city more than $1 million annually. Paramedic service is provided by the Fire Department.

The failure to get “privatization” approved “stemmed from not understanding the dynamics of the community,” Young said.

“It was unfortunate it came up so quickly, and we didn’t have the opportunity to educate the public,” McGuigan said.

Timing of Proposal

“That issue ran out of control on him,” Griset said. In addition to needing more time for the community to digest it, the proposal “needed to come after an election and not just before one,” the mayor added.

The council members all agreed, however, that the city manager--who will receive $110,000 in salary and benefits for fiscal year 1985-86--has probably learned a lesson from the experience. Bobb will be less likely in his second year to charge into politically sensitive battles, the council members said.

Councilman Robert Luxembourger, who was mayor at the time Bobb was hired, said Bobb is a very quick learner, and that in choosing him, the council made an excellent selection--”the best.” In varying degrees, the other five members of that council agreed, giving Bobb an “A” overall on his first-year report card.

“The people he’s met in Santa Ana have readily accepted him as a knowledgeable person,” Luxembourger said recently. “I don’t want to imply that he’s been accepted as a black--it’s his knowledge, his demeanor, his ability to perform socially, his grace, his protocol. He’s a fantastic guy.”

Although most council members sided with Luxembourger’s assessment of the city manager, not everyone on Bobb’s staff agreed. Speaking on the condition that he not be identified, one top staffer said, “The guy can be incredibly ruthless; it’s almost scary.”

That same source decried what he sees as Bobb’s lack of communication with his staff. “He gets going on so many things, it’s difficult to stay with them all. I’d prefer knowing what the hell is going on,” the staff member said.

Another disgruntled staff member complained of “shifting and random decisions” reached without consultation with aides. “He’s almost impossible to work for. Nobody knows what his agenda is, and you can’t be on a team when you have no idea what the team is.

“When he came to Santa Ana, he wouldn’t talk to anyone and immediately put everyone’s job in jeopardy. Then he hired people from Michigan to take over operations already handled by the staff,” the staff member said.

Others, however, spoke differently. “It’s not a position where you’re going to be loved by all people at all times,” said Dave Ream, director of economic development. “Much of the new focus comes from Robert Bobb,” he said. The city manager’s philosophy on economic development, especially as it relates to the creation and retention of jobs, is one “I totally agree with,” Ream said. “That’s one reason it’s so easy for us to work together.”

Bobb may have alienated some of the staff when he arrived by immediately asking the city attorney whether he could require residency. It is unfortunate, he said, that many of his top staff members do not live in Santa Ana. California law prohibits such a requirement, but Bobb said he still believes staff members “should be a part of the community seven days a week and 24 hours a day.”

In conversations with the staff, community leaders and the council, one description of Bobb that surfaced again and again is “incredible energy level” or, to use the word used by many, “workaholic.”

‘Has Stamina’

“He’s the most articulate, high-energy, knowledgeable person I’ve ever worked for,” said Allen E. Doby, executive director of cultural, recreation and community services. “He works everybody to death (through) his ability to begin a work day at 6 a.m., terminate it at 11 p.m., then begin the process all over again the next day,” he said. “You work 110% just to stay a step behind him.”

Acosta, calling Bobb “the right choice,” agreed: “He has got stamina. The man is built for distance. He’s not a quitter. He doesn’t stop and take deep breaths--he takes deep breaths while he’s charging straight ahead.” But, Acosta said, Bobb is not a workaholic.

“It’s not just work, it’s positive work, an effort toward positive results,” he said.

“I think we can’t help but accomplish a lot, because he’s a hard-driving force,” said Community Development and Housing Director Freeland. “He truly did what the council expected--come in running--and that hasn’t changed.”

But Bobb, who will turn 40 in May, said not enough is demanded from the staff. “We haven’t turned on the afterburners yet. I expect excellence in myself and everyone who works for the city’s organization--in particular the executive directors of these organizations.”

‘Enjoys’ Work

Joyce Bobb, his wife of 11 years, said her husband has always devoted a major portion of his time to work, “because he enjoys it.” Asked whether she feels the family suffers because of Bobb’s six- or seven-day work week, she said, “This is the way he’s worked throughout our marriage, so I know nothing else.”

Although conceding that “we might not have a 6-o’clock dinner every night,” the Bobb family does find time to relax and be together, she said.

Unlike his close business associates, who refer to him as Bob, Joyce Bobb calls her husband Robert or Rob. “I have to find a means of setting myself apart,” she said.

Others who know Bobb well, notably Doby and Vice Mayor Johnson, describe him as a devoted family man. “It’s fun to watch him with his kid,” 10-year-old Tony, Johnson said. “I take my kids and we go to ball games with him and his kid. You get to see him when he’s not ‘on.’ ”

Bobb, a Catholic, is a marathon runner with a fondness for sports. He said he often finds the time to fit a softball game into his schedule, and he doesn’t hide his love for the New Orleans Saints. (He was born and reared in Louisiana.) Bobb describes himself as an avid skier and says he wishes he and his son had more time for the slopes.

Jogs Through City

In an effort to see every part of Santa Ana--”without question the premier city in Orange County,” Bobb said--he jogs, using running as a way to meet people.

“I find it fascinating,” Johnson said. “He runs through the city to learn what’s going on, up and down streets and back alleys.” Councilman Dan Young called the running excursions “an extraordinary effort,” noting that Bobb has probably seen most of the city that way.

In addition to “energetic” and “bright,” a third description often used by those who do business with Bobb is “fair.”

Businessman Bade said Bobb’s “quality of fairness” stands out. Bade’s partner, Paul Sepulveda, was the first target of criminal proceedings in the city’s expanded housing code enforcement program begun 10 months ago.

“Through all that upheaval and problems, Bobb never resorted to petty one-sidedness,” Bade said. “Some of the lesser staff people seemed to be leaning in that direction, toward vindictiveness, but Bobb, no.”

$142-Million Budget

During Bobb’s administration, spending increased by one-fifth with a 1984-85 fiscal year budget of $142 million. Much of the increase was absorbed by the housing code enforcement program and the Police Department. In 1984, the rate of violent crimes and burglaries soared, and a crackdown was initiated late in the year.

Anti-crime measures are among Bobb’s top goals. “We plan to further strengthen the foot patrols, downtown and in the neighborhoods, so citizens will feel the strong commitment against crime,” he said. Officials agree that so far, the patrols have been a success. An “extremely tough” stance will be taken against burglars and “people who are terrorizing” the community, he said.

Another top priority is for department chiefs to become more directly involved with the community--”to see it from the street-level up”--and to give residents more of an opportunity to participate in decision-making.

“All he’s asked is that we take leadership positions in our respective areas,” said David H. Grosse, executive director of public services.

More Programs Planned

Other plans for 1985 include a business-retention program--”not a rifle-shot program, but a planned one,” Bobb said, and reaching final decisions on Centerpointe--the $70-million downtown skyscraper that would house municipal offices and a 200-room hotel--and on a proposed domed sports arena on the site of Santa Ana Stadium.

In addition, a major clean-up program will be launched in the spring, and on Arbor Day an “aggressive” tree-planting program will begin, he said.

The city’s library system will be scrutinized with an eye to technological improvement, and a “strong program for expansion into cultural arts” is envisioned, Bobb said.

The overall goal is to give Santa Ana the image of a “major-league city,” Bobb said. “All we need are resources, policy direction and enthusiasm. But if the council says retrench, then we’re prepared to retrench,” he said.

Relations with the council could be a key to future success. Some observers said they detect a growing suspicion of Bobb on Griset’s part. And Griset said the council will meet privately with Bobb soon to review his performance: “I don’t want to be critical of him in the newspapers,” he said.

A comment from Johnson that Bobb is “oblivious to political winds,” caused Bobb to respond, “I totally disagree.” Although Johnson conceded that his comment might not have been “a criticism, but a blessing,” Bobb took offense.

“Some would have me test the political waters . . . (but) I believe in putting issues out on the floor of the City Council,” he said. “I’m not paid to make political judgments for the elected city officials but to provide unbiased professional advice.

“I don’t intend to change.”