Rebecca Bjork is now second-in-command at the city of Santa Barbara.
City Administrator Paul Casey named Bjork assistant city administrator on Monday, replacing Pam Antil, who recently took a job in Encinitas.
It’s been a big year for Bjork, who was named public works director in 2014, and acting community development director last summer.
“Rebecca brings a high standard of professionalism, commitment, and a wealth of experience to the role to the assistant city administrator position,” Casey said in a news release. “I am confident that she will serve as a valuable resource to me, our executive team and the City Council.”
In an interview with Noozhawk, Casey said he was impressed with Bjork’s leadership over the years in the Public Works department, the largest operating department in the city,
“She has over 31 years of experience with the city, and is very committed to making the city organization the best it can be in delivering services to the community,” Casey said.
Bjork added that she’s ready for the challenge.
“I am very excited to take on this new role, and hope my 30-plus years of experience working for the city continues to serve the residents and visitors of Santa Barbara,” Bjork said.
The decision suggests Casey’s growing reliance on Bjork as a steady hand amid the political chaos that has swarmed City Hall for the past year.
With developers and some members of the business community expressing opposition to the community development department, Casey named Bjork community development director, a replacement for George Buell, who departed the city abruptly.
Now, Bjork’s presence will grow stronger, working inside the main City Hall office, and will likely serve as a buffer to some of the community and council critics who have raised questions about the direction of the city amid a retail slide and a growing sense of business frustration amid the pandemic.
Bjork will earn $228,000 annually in her new position.
“I like and respect Rebecca, and I wish her the best of luck, and I’m happy that Paul Casey has promoted someone from within our city that is cognoscente of the internal problems,” said developer Ed St. George, who has been one of Casey’s most vocal critics. “Hopefully Paul has learned his lessons that hiring people from outside the area for a city as unique as ours simply cannot work.
“Between the city and the county, we have plenty of capable and knowledgeable candidates to choose from. Frankly I think the community is tired of bringing in all the Los Angles-based department heads that know zero about Santa Barbara.”
Bjork will continue to serve as acting community development director until a new person is found. Casey said he plans to fill the position permanent with a nationwide search
The move is just the latest position in flux.
Bjork’s previous position as public works director was originally filled by Brian D’Amour, but now Joshua Haggmark, former water resources specialist, is serving as acting public works director.
“Brian D’Amour did it for three or four months, did a great job, then I rotated Joshua in for an opportunity, as well, at the start of the new year,” Casey said. “There is a strong bench in public works, but as with any department head position, I will do an open recruitment and hire the best person.”
Casey is also looking to fill two other high-profile positions — fire chief and police chief.
Eric Nickel announced his retirement in October of 2020. Casey said the position closes for applicants this week.
“It takes some time to cull through the applications, have the recruiter do an initial screening interview, then an oral board process, followed by one-on-one interviews with me,” said Casey, adding that a permanent hire is expected in about two months.
Finally, Police Chief Lori Luhnow is retiring in February.
Barney Melekian, a well-regarded Santa Barbara County assistant executive officer and former county undersheriff, will take over as interim police chief at that time.
“I will need to structure some public process for community input for the qualities to be looking for in the next police chief, ” Casey said, “much like I did five years ago.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
