Carlsbad

After a far-flung search for a new city manager, Carlsbad City Council members finally looked just past their noses for the right man for the job. Tuesday, after a 20-minute closed session, they named Ray Patchett, assistant city manager in Carlsbad for two years, the city’s new chief executive.

Patchett, 39, was selected from among 130 candidates who applied for the $74,000-a-year post. That herd of potential administrators was winnowed to 11 finalists by a management consulting firm, which was paid $15,000 for the task.

Despite the widespread search for a new chief executive, Patchett earned the inside track for the job when he was chosen to serve as interim city manager after the retirement in June of longtime top administrator Frank Aleshire.

Council members said a key factor in their decision was the support Patchett received from other city department heads and staff members. They also said they were pleased with his handling of the ongoing effort to enact the city’s new growth-management program.

Before coming to Carlsbad in June, 1985, Patchett served more than a decade in various posts with the cities of Burbank, Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach.

He has completed course work toward a master’s degree in public administration from California State University at Los Angeles and holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from USC.

Patchett, a resident of Carlsbad, is married and has a 14-year-old son.