There was a time, which does not seem so long ago, when Sonoma County city managers stayed in place for far longer than Jeff Kolin’s Santa Rosa tenure since 2000. Ken Blackman of Santa Rosa and Pete Callinan of Rohnert Park come to mind. With Jeff Kolin departing Santa Rosa soon, Town of Windsor Manager Matt Mullen will have the longest tenure of any Sonoma County city manager at about four years.

While not suggesting that extremely lengthy tenure of the “good old days” variety is the best practice now, a certain amount of longevity as the chief administrative officer leading a multi-million dollar organization often provides desired stability, which can be very helpful in these tough times.

Having had the pleasure of working with Jeff on important regional and state-wide issues during my service as Rohnert Park Mayor and Councilmember, it is easy to understand why Beverly Hills would seek out his services as its next city manager. Congratulations Jeff on your upcoming move while wishing both Rohnert Park and Santa Rosa similar success with their respective city manager searches.