OXNARD : Ex-City Manager Takes Salinas Post

David Mora, forced to end his tenure as Oxnard city manager July 1 after five years, has been hired as city manager of Salinas, beating out 13 candidates.

Mora, who was ousted on a 3-2 vote by the Oxnard City Council, will be the first Latino to hold the $95,000-a-year job of managing Salinas’ 550 employees. Latinos make up about 50% of the population in both Salinas and Oxnard.

Mora, 45, assumes his new job Sept. 10 and may earn up to a $6,000 raise in salary within six months if the Salinas City Council is happy with his work.

Roy Herte, current city manager of Salinas, said Mora’s firing was unimportant. “As a city manager, it’s unusual to find someone who hasn’t been fired at one time or another. When you’re at the pleasure of an ever-changing City Council with a predetermined agenda, it’s very easy to be fired. All they have to do is say they are no longer pleased, and you’re looking for a new job.”