Candidates for County CAO Narrowed to 6

Two veteran Ventura County government managers are among a group of six finalists who are being considered for the county’s chief administrative post.

John Johnston, director of the county’s General Services Agency, and Marty Robinson, chief deputy administrative officer, are among the candidates for the top job, Supervisor John Flynn said Friday. Both managers have been mentioned before as possible contenders.

The Board of Supervisors will meet privately Tuesday to interview all six candidates for chief administrator, whose responsibilities include overseeing nearly 8,000 employees and a $1-billion annual budget.

Flynn said the remaining four finalists are government officials from outside the county. He declined to name them.

Others were tight-lipped about the search for a new county administrator, refusing to confirm the identities of even the two in-house candidates.

“If it’s about the CAO, you won’t get anything,” said Supervisor Steve Bennett.

Neither Robinson nor Johnston could be reached for comment Friday. Robinson, a top deputy in the chief administrator’s office, has worked for the county for more than 20 years. Johnston, who oversees the county’s 270-employee General Services Agency, has worked in county administration for 13 years.

Supervisors hope whoever is selected can start work by April 1, when interim chief Harry Hufford’s contract expires.

Hufford, who served as chief administrator of Los Angeles County from 1974 to 1985, was hired in an interim capacity in December 1999. He filled the position left vacant by David Baker, who stunned supervisors when he quit after only four days on the job.

Baker left a blistering six-page resignation letter warning that the county was on the brink of financial chaos. He said the chief administrator’s role was too weak to control the budget, rein in politically powerful department heads and institute significant policy changes.

Baker eventually returned to his previous job as top manager of San Joaquin County.

Meanwhile, Hufford, who had earned a reputation as a financial Mr. Fix It in Los Angeles, was considered the ideal choice to replace Baker and was the only one interviewed for the job. His crisis-tempered experience in Los Angeles had prepared him well, officials said.

Indeed, Hufford quickly set about righting Ventura County’s financial ship, building a personal rapport with key department heads and restoring order to what had been an increasingly fractious Board of Supervisors.

Although the 69-year-old Hufford was originally given a seven-month contract, it was later extended to April of this year. Hufford has said repeatedly that he would stick to his plan and step down at that time.