Ventura Wants to Hire Former Santa Barbara Official : Government: Veteran administrator Richard Thomas has been offered the job of interim city manager pending selection of John Baker’s successor.

The former top administrator in Santa Barbara has been offered the job of Ventura interim city manager, council members said Tuesday.

Starting July 1, Richard Thomas would run Ventura City Hall until the council selects a permanent replacement for outgoing City Manager John Baker.

Thomas--who coincidentally has the same name as Ventura’s police chief--served as Santa Barbara’s city administrator for 17 years before retiring in the fall.

“He’s done a terrific job in Santa Barbara and his references are just great,” Ventura Councilman Jack Tingstrom said. “He’s one of those people who are quietly effective.”

Ventura Mayor Tom Buford, who has been in touch with Thomas and other applicants for the job, declined to comment Monday on Thomas’ selection or whether he has accepted the position.

Thomas, 63, is vacationing in Idaho with his family this month and could not be reached for comment.

Of the applicants they considered, council members said, Thomas seemed the best candidate to create a smooth transition between the current and future city managers.

“He’ll be a nice, stabilizing person through the interim,” Councilman Gary Tuttle said. “He’s calm and rational, and he’s done it before.”

Some Santa Barbara council members raved about Thomas in interviews Tuesday, saying the only positive side to his retirement was that they could replace him with his protege of 15 years, the former deputy city administrator.

“We had a profound sense of loss when he left,” said Mayor Hal Conklin, who came onto the council in March, 1977, only two months after Thomas started his job in Santa Barbara. “He was responsible for a remarkable transition in the city of Santa Barbara, from the sleepy town, small-town state it was in when he arrived, to the development level it’s at today. He brought the city staff into the 20th Century.”

Conklin said that every time he met managers of other cities, it just reminded him how lucky Santa Barbara was to have Thomas at its helm.

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Harriet Miller, who has served on Santa Barbara’s council for seven years, said he was an excellent manager of people.

“He nurtured his staff and gave people the opportunity to develop, so they could progress through jobs in the city,” she said. “He was also very supportive of women in administrative positions.”

In fact, the deputy city administrator who succeeded Thomas is a woman.

The Ventura City Council settled on Thomas after weeks of closed-door debate, finally choosing Baker’s temporary successor 11 days before Baker is officially scheduled to resign.

Originally, the council also considered Murray Warden, now the interim city manager in Encinitas, but Warden asked to be dropped from consideration this month when Encinitas wanted him to stay on longer.

Council members then interviewed Donald Penman, former city manager of Baldwin Park. Some council members said they preferred Thomas to Penman simply because Thomas is older and has more experience.

Finally, this last week, Ventura’s former city manager who preceded Baker, Ed McCombs, also threw his name into the hat. Council members, however, said they did not want to delay their appointment by taking time to interview McCombs. Besides, said some, the city needs new ideas.

“Sure, he was a good manager back then, but it’s time to move on,” Tuttle said.

Council members said they hope to find a permanent city manager within six months. In the meantime, the city will pay Thomas up to $10,000 per month, a city source said.