Local News in Brief : Westminster : Veteran of Air Force Named City Manager

The City Council on Tuesday tapped a former city manager of several Central California cities for the same post in Westminster.

Murray L. Warden replaces Robert J. Huntley, acting city administrator who was hired a year ago with the understanding that he would not seek a permanent position.

Warden has been city manager for Morro Bay and Atascadero and served as assistant city manager in Paso Robles.

He was interim manager for Greenfield and most recently for the City of Banning, where he was hired for a 30-day period.

“We hired Murray only for a temporary fill-in period. If Westminster hadn’t hired him, he was in line for serious consideration as city manager here. We liked him,” Banning Mayor Larry Higgins said.

With an estimated population of 73,954, Westminster is the largest city Warden will have ever managed. Banning has 16,000 residents.

Warden attended the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of San Francisco.

He served 21 years in the Air Force as a pilot and staff officer, assigned to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U-2 spy plane program. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.

He begins work on Monday.