Rick Cole

Rick Cole (born 1953) was the city manager of Santa Monica, California from 2015 to 2020.[1] Cole previously served as city manager of the City of Azusa, which was cited by an editorial in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune as the "most improved City in the San Gabriel Valley" during his tenure. He later served as city manager of Ventura, California from 2004 to 2012. On his resignation, the Ventura County Star editorialized: "The Star hopes at least one thing won't change after Mr. Cole's last day on the job: The high level of professionalism and integrity we've seen in the city under his management and leadership." The Star said Cole "led a downtown revitalization, guided Ventura through daunting budget challenges and oversaw important but unsexy work such as improving public works, water and sewer operations."[2]

He served 12 years in elective office in his hometown of Pasadena, California, including as deputy mayor from 1990 to 1992 and as mayor of Pasadena from 1992 to 1994. He was a co-founder of the newspaper Pasadena Weekly. He became the parish administrator at the San Buenaventura Mission in 2012.[3] In July, 2013, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed Rick to the position of deputy mayor for Budget and Innovation.[4] On May 27, 2015, Rick Cole was named the city manager of Santa Monica, by unanimous vote of the city council.[5][1]

Cole served as the city manager of Santa Monica, California from 2015 until his resignation on April 17, 2020.[6] He resigned after an online petition for his resignation attained more than 2,800 signatures[7] on change.org, an online petitioning service. His resignation was announced on the City of Santa Monica's official blog 18 days before the local city council was scheduled to vote on large budget cuts to compensate for financial losses caused by the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic, during which the city closed all local bars and restaurants and was projected to lose $154 million in revenue.[7] The petition's authors cited alleged "superfluous spending [and] poor judgment", including "expanded powers and authority under the local emergency proclamation" which allowed the city manager to "layoff a large percentage of City Staff without giving them proper notice". The petition also called for the resignation of Assistant City Manager Katie Lichtig.[8]

In 2006, he was selected as one of Governing Magazine's "Public Officials of the Year" which observed, "First in Azusa, and now on a larger scale in Ventura, he has offered ample proof that good politics and good management aren’t as different as is sometimes assumed."

Cole is a graduate of Occidental College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.