Police Chief Pitches His Qualifications for City Manager

Police Chief Harold Hurtt sees plenty of conflict as the top crime fighter in Ventura County’s biggest city.

Now, Hurtt is interested in a job that can be just as contentious: city manager.

Hurtt, 50, is one of three Oxnard city employees who have expressed interest in filling the post left vacant after embattled City Manager Tom Frutchey was fired in February. Hurtt met several weeks ago with City Council members to talk about taking Frutchey’s old job.

Earlier this month, saying that Oxnard needed to consider all of its options, the council decided to hire an executive search firm to recruit candidates for city manager.

Hurtt said Monday that he was not deterred by the council’s decision. Though he stopped short of declaring himself a candidate for the job, Hurtt explained why he would make a good city manager.

“I think now there’s a window of opportunity in Oxnard,” Hurtt said. “What kind of city are we going to be? How are we going to compete with other cities in terms of retail, taxes and quality of life? Our city is not one of poor management. It’s one of a lack of resources. It’s really going to take a community effort. We can’t buy our way out of this.”

“My interest is not self-interest,” Hurtt added. “It’s for the future of Oxnard. . . . The only people with shorter longevity than city managers are police chiefs.”

Hurtt’s interest in the city manager position--which involves overseeing a $61-million budget and a 1,250-member work force--has surprised some in Oxnard.

But the smooth manner in which he has pitched his qualifications for the job has not.

The chief has won wide praise around Oxnard for making all the right moves in public, such as bolstering the department’s community policing efforts.

During his five years as chief, the number of sworn officers in Oxnard has risen to 179--the highest in department history--although a string of alleged police brutality cases has stung the department.

Oxnard Sgt. Tom Chronister, vice president of the Oxnard Peace Officers Assn., praised Hurtt for building support for police. But he said his boss would be fit for the city manager’s office.

“He’s really well-connected in the community,” Chronister said. “That’s important for someone going for the city manager’s job. He’s really ingrained himself into that culture.”

Councilman John Zaragoza was one of numerous officials who heaped praise on Hurtt as well as on interim City Manager Prisilla Hernandez and Community Services Director Matt Winegar, both of whom have also expressed interest in the city manager’s job.

But Zaragoza was among the council majority that voted to extend the search for Frutchey’s replacement outside Oxnard.

“It might cost us $18,000 to $20,000, but you have to see what’s out there. We owe it to our public to find the best city manager possible.

“He’s doing a heck of a great job as a police chief,” Zaragoza said of Hurtt. “But in the back of your mind, you still want to go out and look.”

Councilman Dean Maulhardt, on the other hand, said he was disappointed that the three in-house candidates were not considered first.

Maulhardt said city employees seem to have held up well since the dismissal of Frutchey, who was accused of lowering morale with a tyrannical management style. With some recent success in luring new businesses to Oxnard, he said, the city needs to make stability a priority.

“I’m comfortable staying in-house,” he said. “I’d like to get to work, rather than go through the search.”

Hurtt, whom some officers have criticized for being inaccessible, said he would be an approachable city manager.

“I think my method of management is going to be different [from Frutchey’s]. I’ll get closer and closer to the troops.”

The police chief brushed off the suggestion that the brutality allegations would hamper a bid for city manager.

“We’re in a complex and dangerous business,” he said. “Oxnard’s a very complex city. Look at the demographics and the differences in income. This is not an easy city to police.”

Hurtt said his academic training would put him on equal footing with other city manager candidates. He received a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.

“But if one is going to rely on degrees they got 15, 20 years ago, that’s not adequate,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything more difficult that a city manager has to solve than the police chief [has to].

“I think being a policeman, you’re always a policeman,” he said. “But I think leadership is needed elsewhere in the city. . . . I’m available.”