Bay Area Official Named to Lead Port District

After an exhaustive search, officials have picked a longtime Bay Area city administrator as the general manager of the bankrupt Ventura Port District, commissioners said Thursday.

Commissioners hope that Ed Wohlenberg, a former Vallejo city manager and current interim city manager in Half Moon Bay, can lead the financially troubled agency into smoother seas.

“He was the best of the candidates,” Commissioner Gary Jacobs said. “He has the experience that we think we need. . . . He had visions about the future that we have not seen before.”

Wohlenberg, 57, was selected over two other final candidates, including outgoing Port District General Manager Richard Parsons, who has held the position for the past 13 years.

Port commissioners plan to announce Wohlenberg’s selection at a special meeting today, where they are scheduled to approve his contract. The new general manager starts his job Monday.

Commissioners who served on the port district’s selection committee said Wohlenberg’s background in public administration, including the management of waterfront leases and river dredging, set him apart.

“He had been involved in dredging of the Napa River in Vallejo and waterfront operations,” Commissioner Todd Collart said. “He was a city manager, so he knew about interrelationships that we need to promote between the port and the city.”

The most important role of the general manager is keeping the harbor entrance open, which requires a knowledge of dredging and an ability to lobby state and federal agencies for money, officials say.

More than a dozen business owners in and around the Ventura harbor pleaded with the commission last week to retain Parsons because of his experience with harbor dredging.

Although Wohlenberg is not a dredging expert, commissioners said he is familiar with such issues.

“Mr. Wohlenberg is not inexperienced with dredging,” Collart said. “He has dealt with leases, he has dealt with financially troubled entities.”

The general manager will inherit an agency now embroiled in complex legal affairs after declaring bankruptcy three years ago--the first Ventura County government agency ever to do so.

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In addition, Wohlenberg will take over as chief financial officer of two port corporations, landlord to numerous harbor tenants and manager of a staff of about 20 people.

Commissioner Jean Getchell Bush, who also served on the selection committee, said she is confident Wohlenberg has the necessary skills to tackle those tasks.

“Mr. Wohlenberg was No. 1 on my list,” she said. “He seemed to be a very earnest, diligent and a decent person . . . he is very able.”

Wohlenberg has been an administrator for 30 years, serving as city manager for the cities of Brea, Vallejo and South San Francisco.

He is a graduate of the University of Kansas, with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration, he said.

Wohlenberg, who is married and has two adult sons, saw an advertisement for the port district position in a professional journal and applied for the job.

“I have been in city management all my life,” he said. “But I thought it would be interesting to do something on a smaller scope.”

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Wohlenberg said the general manager position is a professional challenge and a new opportunity that he is eager to tackle.

“I don’t bring any magic bullets,” he said. “I just think that there is great opportunity long term.”

The base salary for the general manager position was advertised at $86,000, plus benefits. But Wohlenberg’s contract is still under wraps until the commission formally approves his hiring, officials said.

Outgoing General Manager Parsons said he has mixed emotions about the announcement. Parsons resigned in November, citing philosophical differences with commissioners, but later reapplied for the job.

Parsons was one of three candidates under consideration for the position until last week, when commissioners said they were negotiating a contract with their final pick.

“Even though I am disappointed, I may be better off,” Parsons said Thursday.

Parsons has secured a one-year, $75,000 contract as a dredging consultant for the agency. He is now trying to negotiate a deal with the city to manage the dredging of the Ventura Keys.

“The board saw to it that Richard was going to be on board regardless of the outcome of the general manager search,” Collart said.

Business owners in Ventura Harbor Village said they were disappointed that Parsons was not rehired for the position. And one said she was upset that the cash-strapped district was spending money on two administrative positions.

“It sounds like to me like this is a whole lot of extra money that they will be paying,” said Lynn Mikelatos, owner of The Greek restaurant. “I am very frustrated.”

“All we can do is hope that this Ed Wohlenberg has a good head on his shoulders and is a quick study,” Mikelatos said. “He has got a lot to prove.”