Camarillo Selects Its Next City Manager

CAMARILLO — When Jerry Bankston left this city as assistant manager in 1986 he vowed to return one day as the city manager. He was so sure he would return to the city, in fact, that he never sold his home despite working elsewhere in Southern California in the time since.

The City Council fulfilled Bankston’s dream Friday, announcing his selection to replace City Manager Bill Little, who is retiring Oct. 31 after 11 years.

“It’s a jewel of a community,” said Bankston, 53. “Both personally and professionally it’s the kind of place you fall in love with.”

Now chief executive in the Orange County city of La Habra, Bankston edged out Bob Westdyke, public works director in Camarillo, for the $123,000-a-year job. The council also passed over Assistant City Manager Larry Davis, who was among the six finalists.

“He was the No. 1 choice, but it was difficult,” veteran Councilman Mike Morgan said. “He is highly qualified, and we were looking for someone with experience in areas he is strong in.”

Morgan noted Bankston’s experience in city redevelopment and airport management.

Mayor Kevin Kildee and Councilwoman Charlotte Craven also praised Bankston and said his primary qualification was his tenure as chief executive in three small California cities.

“He’s grown a lot in 11 years,” Craven said.

Bankston comes to Camarillo after managing Paso Robles, Seal Beach and La Habra--a city about the same size as Camarillo, which has 62,500 residents. The move caps a 25-year career in city government for Bankston, who started as an administrative intern in Garden Grove in 1974.

Bankston worked in Camarillo for a decade, and he said it took a lot of soul searching before moving away in 1986.

“As hard as it was personally, professionally I had the opportunity to be the city manager in San Luis Obispo County,” Bankston said. “In some ways [Paso Robles] was facing some of the same problems that Camarillo had faced in the ‘70s.”

Bankston said he and his wife did not sell their Mission Oaks home because they always intended to make their way back.

The first thing Bankston will do when he takes over Nov. 1 is to reacquaint himself with the city staff and the community.

“The staff is absolutely professional, the best collection of staff in the state of California,” Bankston said. “The city is not looking for a manager to come in and stir things up and change direction. I’m going to help them move to the next level in terms of the community and the Old Town [redevelopment] project.”

Bankston’s main challenges, Craven and Kildee said, will be to accommodate the rapid growth expected from the nearby Cal State University campus and to direct the transformation of the city’s traditional main street, Ventura Boulevard, into a more pedestrian-friendly and old-fashioned thoroughfare lined with antique lamps and park benches.

Bankston was the city manager of Paso Robles from 1986 to ’91. For the next four years he managed the Orange County seaside community of Seal Beach. He then took the job in La Habra in 1995.

Bankston has a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State University Long Beach.