City Manager to Retire From Anaheim Post

Anaheim City Manager Bob Simpson, hired two years ago after a bitter feud between the City Council and his predecessor, announced his retirement Tuesday.

But Simpson agreed to remain in the job until May, 1990, to give the council time to conduct a nationwide search for his replacement and make a smooth transition.

Simpson, who is 59, said he wants to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests. Council members made it clear that the job could have been his as long as he wanted it.

“I know a lot of people are stunned,” Mayor Fred Hunter said. “His accomplishments have been remarkable. . . . The morale from top to bottom (among city employees) was at an all-time low when Bob took the helm.”

Simpson’s decision was announced at the beginning of Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting. But he had made the council aware from the beginning that he did not plan to stay long in the job.

Simpson, who had been fire chief and then deputy city manager in Anaheim, was appointed as interim city manager in August, 1987, a week after his predecessor, William O. Talley, agreed to resign in the face of a council effort to oust him. Hunter had run on a campaign to remove Talley, and, once elected, led the 3-2 vote to fire him.

Simpson had served for 30 years in the Los Angeles County Fire Department, where he rose to deputy fire chief, before accepting appointment as Anaheim’s fire chief in 1980. In 1986, he was appointed deputy city manager and managed to stay clear of Talley’s battles with the council, which were mainly over the California Angels lawsuit against the city.

After Simpson’s interim appointment, the council considered more than 100 applicants to replace Talley. But in December, 1987, the council gave the job permanently to Simpson.

At the time of his interim appointment, Simpson had said he did not intend to stay in the job long.

“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I don’t want to be the permanent city manager,” he said then.

Once on the job, however, he had his hands full with settling city lawsuits, leading plans for a proposed indoor sports arena, and numerous redevelopment plans. It came during two years of personnel upheaval, when many employees retired because of changes in the city’s health benefits package. In that time, the city brought aboard a new police chief, a new fire chief, a planning director and a new manager for Anaheim Stadium.

“My goal in 1987 was to let the organization heal itself,” Simpson said Tuesday. “We had been through a tough transition.”

Even as council members lavished praise on Simpson, Councilman William D. Ehrle said it should not be difficult for the city to find a satisfactory replacement. Anaheim, with 34 million tourists annually and two professional sports franchises, “is considered one of the most sought-after positions in city management,” Ehrle said.