ANAHEIM : New City Manager Ready for Challenge

The new city manager, James D. Ruth, can be found at odd hours of the morning and night working in his office on the top floor of City Hall.

A veteran administrator, he was the maneuvering force responsible for bringing a 20,000-seat sports arena to Anaheim--and keeping the Los Angeles Rams, California Angels, Anaheim Stadium Associates and a nearby mobile home park owner happy in the process.

But delegating the remaining work of the arena project and delving into the other tough issues confronting the old and diverse city will be a major test for Ruth.

Ruth was promoted from assistant city manager by a narrow vote from a disparate and often bickering City Council that disagreed about whether he was the best choice.

Now, having been on the job for a month, he sees his role as trying to bring cohesive vision to the city and selling that plan to a divided City Council.

Even those who don’t always agree with Ruth say they think he can do it.

“He has that ability to bring people together--he’s done it with us,” said Neil Papiano, an attorney representing a potential developer of the arena. “He’s very real about what will work, and he’s very fair. . . . He’s quiet but effective.”

Ruth accepts the challenge of being the city’s coordinator.

“The primary role I see is to identify the issues . . . so we can focus our time, effort, energy and resources on them and not dissipate them on a whole array of issues that may not be significant or meaningful,” Ruth said. “And I enjoy that, by the way.”

Amin David, president of Anaheim-based Los Amigos of Orange County, said he is eager to see how Ruth will respond to issues confronting the city’s growing Latino community, which is nearing 45% of the population.

David, a 25-year resident of Anaheim, points to the lack of Latinos in managerial positions in City Hall, the slow pace of promised reforms in the city’s ghetto neighborhoods and the few Latino business people providing services to City Hall.

Yet, David said, “I think Mr. Ruth has empathy for the plight of the Latinos. I think he’s a fair shooter with no hidden agenda.”

William D. Ross, an attorney for the stadium and observer of the changing of the civic guard in Anaheim, says Ruth has learned from former Anaheim politicians how to handle a differing City Council.

Ruth had a similar role when, as director of parks and recreation in Long Beach, he reorganized the entire department in the mid-1980s.

Kelton Reese, a department manger for Ruth when he undertook that job, said Ruth’s “real strength” is his ability to focus a group of people.

“It may sound a little hokey, but he really has that ability,” Reese said. “Jim has the knack . . . to give people the opportunity to channel their energy . . . and feel like they’re part of what’s happening.”

Marie Monet, president of financial services for Ogden Corp., a competing developer for the arena project, said of Roth: “Anyone who can handle the complexity and variety of issues that came up with the arena project can handle anything. Everything a city manager might face, we faced during that deal. He’s certainly not someone we found to be a pushover.”