Orange : Acting City Manager Named Permanently

Ron Thompson, acting city manager since November, was named to the post permanently this week.

Thompson, 56, first came to Orange in 1985 as the city’s first economic development director. When the economic and redevelopment departments were combined in 1987, Thompson became the director of that agency. Before coming to Orange he had worked 23 years for the city of Anaheim.

Thompson was named acting city manager in Orange when William Little left the job to become city manager of Camarillo.

“Orange is a very dynamic and diverse city,” Thompson said. “I plan on helping it plan for the future. We want to make sure that future developments have a positive impact on the city, that we deal with traffic in a satisfactory way and that we have quality parks.”

Thompson, who lives in Yorba Linda, is a native of Orange. He received a degree in business administration from Cal Poly Pomona and a certificate in planning from UC Berkeley.