Carlsbad

Carlsbad Councilman John Mamaux, saying he was eager to sharpen his administrative skills, revealed Tuesday that he had talked with Oceanside officials about applying as an assistant city manager there.

Mamaux, a former city manager in Carlsbad, said he discussed the possibility last week of going to work in the neighboring city with William Talley, Oceanside’s interim city manager.

Talley, however, told the Carlsbad councilman that he planned to promote from within the city ranks to fill the opening. Last week, Talley named Fire Chief Jim Rankin as interim assistant city manager.

“I went over to see Bill Talley, and he told me he was interested in promoting from within, so that was it,” Mamaux said, adding that he saw the Oceanside opportunity as a way “to hone my skills” under Talley, a longtime chief administrator in Anaheim.

Talley became interim chief administrator in Oceanside at the beginning of the month when City Manager Suzanne Foucault resigned under council pressure.

For Mamaux, it was the second time since he won a council seat last November that he has expressed interest in getting back into city administration.

When Carlsbad City Manager Frank Aleshire resigned earlier this year, Mamaux was mentioned as a possible successor. City legal experts, however, told the council that it could not select someone from within its ranks.

Mamaux resigned as Carlsbad city manager in the mid-1960s after getting into a bar brawl. Since then, he has worked in private business as a consultant and served nearly a decade on the Carlsbad school board.