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ORANGE : Anaheim Lawyer Gets City Atty. Job

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The new man in the city attorney’s leather chair will be Texas native Robert O. Franks, who was selected by the City Council last week.

Franks, an attorney for the city of Anaheim for 20 years, succeeds Furman Roberts, who retired last December after 22 years as city attorney.

Franks, 56, is now senior assistant city attorney for Anaheim. He is expected to take over April 15, and he will be paid $91,350 a year.

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Franks was chosen from applicants statewide, among them two Orange senior assistant attorneys--Luis A. Rodriguez and Robert Herrick. The City Council interviewed the three finalists before making its decision.

Mayor Gene Beyer said Frank’s extensive background in municipal law and his leadership characteristics make him a “very strong choice.”

“He just seemed like a real take-charge person, but in tune and in sympathy with the city and citizens,” Beyer said. “I was just impressed by this fellow’s quiet but strong manner. . . . Sort of the type to walk softly and carry a big stick.”

Franks was hired by Anaheim in 1970 as a deputy city attorney, and he spent three years as a criminal prosecutor for the city. He later took over the city’s civil division.

He is already a familiar face to some city officials. City Manager Ron Thompson and Fire Chief Martel Thompson both worked with Franks as employees of Anaheim.

“I think he is very much a team player,” the city manager said. “And he has a well-rounded legal background on the civil side as well as on the prosecution side.”

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Franks’ boss, Anaheim City Atty. Jack L. White, said he is “a good legal scholar, a fine gentleman and a great loss to the city of Anaheim.”

“He tells a lot of great Texas jokes, so now he has a whole new audience for them,” White added. “I tried to talk him out of leaving Anaheim, but it’s a great opportunity for him in Orange.”

Franks left Texas for good two days after completing final exams at the University of Texas at Austin in 1957. He entered officer’s candidate school and spent three years in the Navy, earning the rank of lieutenant junior grade.

Serving on ships in Long Beach Harbor gave Franks a taste for California. He taught junior high school for 10 years in the Norwalk-La Mirada School District and attended law classes part-time, graduating from Pacific Coast University School of Law in 1966.

Franks and his wife of 31 years, Margaret, live in Anaheim.

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