Council Names New Interim City Manager as Political Fallout Continues : Government: Riverside official on leave will help City Hall transition, which he calls a historic change.

A new temporary city manager has been appointed by the Bell Gardens City Council, the second administrator to hold that position in less than a week.

William Vasquez, a redevelopment project manager for the city of Riverside, was named interim city manager until the upcoming April 14 election. Vasquez said he is taking a leave of absence from Riverside to assist the new council during the city’s change in power.

“They are all so new--these are not professional politicians--and people forget that everyone has to learn the ropes,” Vasquez said during a whirlwind of meetings on his second day at City Hall.

“There are a lot of issues facing them. But the biggest one for now is getting through the next election.”

The council also appointed an interim city clerk, Martha Ochoa, to work through the April 14 election. Ochoa is the City Council secretary in Bell and is also taking a leave of absence until after the election.

Three of the new councilmen, George T. Deitch, Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia and Frank B. Duran, are running for reelection in that race. The recent shuffling comes in the wake of one of the most sweeping political changes in Bell Gardens’ history.

At its first meeting just over two weeks ago, the City Council fired longtime city manager and political foe Claude Booker and placed City Clerk Leanna Keltner on administrative leave while they “re-evaluated her contract.”

The following week, Booker was replaced by Deputy City Manager Robert Dickey, who moved into Booker’s old office and presided over the council’s first scheduled meeting.

Keltner’s job remained open as she accused the new council members of vote-tampering in the March 10 election. Her accusations sparked a criminal inquiry by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, which a spokesman would only say “is continuing.”

Then last Friday, just five days after approving Dickey’s appointment, the council removed him from office, saying he was overworked. On Monday, Dickey resumed his role as deputy city manager.

Sources in City Hall say the new council feared that Dickey was still in contact with Booker, and that he was being influenced by the former city manager.

“They think (Dickey) is loyal to Claude,” one official said. “They said they couldn’t trust him.”

Vasquez said he was contacted late last week by Councilman Garcia, who had been familiar with Vasquez’s work as an administrator in Bell. Garcia asked him if he would consider coming to Bell Gardens to help with the transition between the two councils, Vasquez said.

“I see what is happening in Bell Gardens as very historical,” Vasquez said. . “The community put together a grass-roots effort to bring about change, and it’s a challenge to come into a community that has those kinds of dynamics.”

Vasquez, who has a master’s degree in public administration from Pepperdine University, has worked for 18 years in various city governments, including Anaheim, Alhambra and Orange.