New Port Hueneme Chief Is an Old Hand

When Fernando Estrella walked in the back door of the small Port Hueneme police station for his first day as the city’s chief, he passed two employees who greeted him by his new title.

Estrella--”Fernie” to many of the residents in this city of 22,000--didn’t realize the employees were addressing him.

“I’ve never been the star of a team. I’ve always been team-oriented, but it was always OK with me if someone else took the credit,” said Estrella, a tall, burly man who played football and baseball at Cal State Sacramento in the 1960s.

It’s that kind of modesty and collegial attitude that prompted city leaders to offer the 31-year department veteran the job without any further search.

The 53-year-old Oxnard native was named interim chief in September after Chief Stephen Campbell abruptly resigned during a department review. Estrella got the $91,000-a-year position permanently in April on a unanimous vote of the City Council, which based its decision on a strong recommendation by City Manager Bob Hunt.

“After seeing what he had done in just six or seven months since being named interim chief . . . and his impact on the department, it just struck me that he was the right person for the job,” Hunt said.

In the months before being named permanent chief, Estrella, who lives in Oxnard with his wife, Nancy, and their 18-year-old son, Brandon, began revitalizing a workplace where morale and momentum among the 24 sworn officers and eight staff members had plummeted, his supporters say.

“He is genuinely, 100%, a what-you-see-is-what-you-get guy,” said Officer Tony Paradis, president of the Port Hueneme Police Officers Assn. “He is the most accessible chief we’ve had.”

In April 2000, after a no-confidence vote by an overwhelming majority of Campbell’s staff, Hunt hired a Northern California consulting firm to do a top-to-bottom review of the Police Department.

According to Tom Anderson, the consultant who interviewed officers, commanders and staff for the 27-page audit, the department was in need of drastic changes.

“I see a department comprised of very unhappy people,” said the report, released last August. “I see confusion, uncertainty and doubt regarding purpose, authority and direction.”

Campbell, who was widely praised for his work in assisting the families of people who died in the Alaska Airlines crash last year, could not be reached for comment.

Among his recommendations, Anderson called for a new mission statement, list of short-term goals and clear outline of expectations for top commanders.

Estrella managed to do all of those things as interim chief and also started sending officers to training courses on a regular basis to keep them current on laws, crime-fighting tools and techniques.

Estrella said he’s working on the recommendations list, but has also spent the last few weeks wrangling with the department’s proposed $3.2-million budget, which he expects will decrease the amount of money for overtime pay but add funds for more patrol cars.

The chief acknowledged that the lack of extra pay will be tough for officers, some of the lowest-paid in the county. But he cites their good work during tough times, with a 9% drop in crime in 2000 over the previous year.

His priority this year, though, is to shore up respect for the department by employees and the community. He has rehired four employees who quit during Campbell’s administration and has increased participation in Neighborhood Watch.

During the last year, with the help of crime prevention officer Maggie Federico, the department has seen an increase from two to 13 in the number of Neighborhood Watch groups, Estrella said.

“We accept all the help we can get,” Estrella said of community policing. “We need members of the public to be our eyes and ears and, as a lot of people know, we wouldn’t be here without the community’s support.”

Despite number crunching that shows the city could save money if it contracted for police protection with the county or the city of Oxnard, Port Hueneme voters have consistently supported a local police department.

Estrella, an Oxnard High graduate whose father was a 25-year Oxnard police veteran, doesn’t appear daunted by the tasks at hand. Despite his laid-back demeanor, Estrella--who rides Harleys and coaches youth basketball for fun--has seen his share of tough assignments.

His small corner office bears proof of hard work, including an associate of arts degree from Ventura College, a bachelor’s from Cal State Sacramento and a master’s from the University of Redlands. There are also several civic commendations.

Tucked among those honors is a medal of valor for Estrella and canine partner Ekko, who both charged at and subdued a drunk man armed with a loaded shotgun and threatening to kill cops in November 1983.

His police career also includes a stint as an undercover narcotics officer infiltrating drug rings in 1971 and 1972 and developing the department’s first gang unit.

Meanwhile, Santa Paula Police Chief Bob Gonzales, a longtime friend, thinks Estrella is ready for whatever comes his way.

“He needs to keep focused and let the politics go the way politics go,” Gonzales said. “He is a person who is in the business for all the right reasons, and he will always try and do right by the community he serves. He’s that kind of guy.”