Visits Santa Ana : Bobb’s Heart Now Belongs to Richmond

Even the snowstorms that shut down City Hall in Richmond, Va., earlier this winter haven’t shaken Robert C. Bobb’s enthusiasm for his new job as city manager of Virginia’s capital city.

He has missed Southern California only once, he says, and that was when he was watching Santa Ana’s float in the Rose Parade. As Santa Ana’s city manager until last July, Bobb has fond memories of the city’s award-winning efforts in the New Year’s Day parade.

But Richmond, where he took over as city manager after 29 months in Santa Ana, is where his heart is now. “Many people have the perception that Richmond is a staid old Southern town,” Bobb said. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Thriving City

In fact, Richmond is a thriving and thoroughly modern city, Bobb said, with a $500-million budget, 15 “Fortune 500” companies, all the state and federal facilities of a state capital and a 4.2% unemployment rate. It adds up to a sizable task for the city manager, but Bobb says he has no plans to return to California, adding: “I’m having too much fun.”

Bobb, who was the first black city manager in Orange County, returned here Thursday for the first time since his departure. In a speech to the Black Business Alliance of Orange County, Bobb urged minorities to band together to create investment pools at a time when federal backing for minority businesses appears to be dwindling.

In a brief interview after the speech, Bobb said he planned to tour Santa Ana Thursday afternoon and head home today. He mentioned the city’s recent decision to convert police cars from all-white to black and white as one change for the worse in his former city.

“I find that surprising and a little bit troublesome,” he said. “It sends the wrong message to the community. It’s symbolic of a throwback to the days when police officers were indifferent to the concerns of the community.”