Bypassing an outside recruitment and search, the Lompoc City Council has hired from within its ranks to fill the vacant city manager job.
While meeting in closed session on several topics Tuesday, the council voted 4-1 to name Management Services Director Dean Albro as Lompoc’s new top employee, City Attorney Jeff Malawy said.
Councilwoman Gilda Cordova cast the lone vote against the hiring.
Albro will replace Jim Throop, who announced Nov. 16 that he had accepted a job as city manager for Cupertino.
Albro’s new contract as permanent city manager is scheduled to return for the City Council’s formal approval in public at the Dec. 21 meeting, Malawy added.
Albro has worked for the City of Lompoc for a decade, including as accounting supervisor, accounting and revenue manager, and management services director.
“I’m really excited about this,” Albro said, noting that the city recently filled vacancies in the Police Department, purchased new vehicles and focused on sprucing up parks. “The energy is great. The parks are looking great, and the staff here are just awesome. This is definitely an honor, and I look forward to it.”
Cordova said her vote against the hiring has nothing to do with Albro as an individual.
“Your success is going to be the success of this city, and I’m 100% behind you in making sure that you have everything you need to make that happen,” she said. “My vote is only reflective of the decision made by the council to move so quickly into making a permanent offer as opposed to maybe making an interim offer.”
Mayor Jenelle Osborne added that Albro has the entire council’s support.
“We are just appreciative you were interested and willing,” Osborne said.
Councilman Jeremy Ball said the council had heard a lot of rhetoric about having a city leader who lives in or is invested in Lompoc.
“We have a chance now,” Ball said. “I’m really excited about this.”
Albro, who has lived in Lompoc for 46 years, since junior high school and graduated from Lompoc High School, has spent the past three years as management services director for the city. Before joining city staff, Albro worked for 21 years in accounting for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in Lompoc.
He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of La Verne.
Albro has been married to his wife, Karen, for 34 years, and they share two adult children, including one in the Marines and another attending California State University, Channel Islands.
After the announcement of his hiring, Albro said he would miss Throop.
“We got a lot done,” Albro added.
Throop has worked for Lompoc since mid-2018, when he arrived to replace Patrick Wiemiller, who left for a job with the City of Santa Maria. When he arrived to the Central Coast from Fresno, Wiemiller was the first city manager hired from outside Lompoc in nearly 50 years.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.