City manager to explore world

As a Bay Area native, Kersnar, 54, said it's likely he'll stay in the state.

"I'm a Californian at heart," he said.

The resignation came as a surprise to the City Council; councilmembers said they had no indication of the news. Kersnar said the decision wasn't the result of any bad feelings or politics within the city. In fact, he's proud of have guided the small city through the economic storm of the past few years with a steady hand.

"I feel good about getting through this - at least so far - in a straightforward way with minimal disruption to the organization," he said.

It's not the state's troubled budget that's sending him running from the job either - otherwise he wouldn't be entertaining the idea of taking on a similar position with another California city, he said.

But Kersnar is not ruling anything out. He may also take a position with a private firm. He's not even sure if his next gig will have anything to do with finance, he said.

In the meantime, Assistant City Manager Dan Rich will fill in until the council appoints an interim city manager at its Aug. 10 meeting. Since Rich had no clue about Kersnar's resignation, he said he hasn't really entertained the possibility of stepping into the role.

Rich declined to comment on whether he'd accept an offer by the council to be the city's next skipper.

"That's an issue that's up to the council," Rich said. "I'd be happy to talk to them about the possibility."

Yunmi Choi can be reached by e-mail at yunmi@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.