Assistant City Manager Among Finalists for Oxnard Position

Assistant City Manager Edmund F. Sotelo is one of three finalists for the Oxnard city manager’s position.

Oxnard City Council members will discuss the candidates in closed session Tuesday.

Sotelo, assistant city manager since 1991, also is the interim personnel director. Since he was hired, he has served as City Manager Phil Hawkey’s No. 2 person at City Hall. In the last year, however, Public Works Director Cynthia Kurtz has also been promoted to assistant city manager and has increased her sphere of influence.

Sotelo was Colton city manager until 1991, when he moved to Pasadena. Before his one-year tenure in Colton he worked for Compton for 22 years.

His departure would be another loss for Hawkey, who in recent months has seen his planning director and fire chief give notice.