Paul Casey, the City of Santa Barbara’s ever-smiling but increasingly embattled city administrator, announced this Friday that he’s stepping down effective September 10, bringing to an end his seven-year reign as City Hall’s top dog, his 24-year career with the city, and the 31 years he spent working in the halls of government. “Sometimes, it’s just time,” Casey stated.
The last four years have been rough, with drought, fires, and debris flows wreaking the catastrophic havoc that only natural disasters can. As Santa Barbara’s central business district — State Street — found itself up against the ropes, Casey came under intense fire for failing to provide the decisive leadership necessary to turn the ship around. The last 18 months, however, have been especially brutal, with COVID laying waste to Santa Barbara’s tourist-based economy at a time when personal relations among city councilmembers hit 40-year new lows. “This job’s a big job. Sometimes you get a little worn down,” Casey acknowledged.
In public, Casey has consistently projected a calm aplomb coupled with a congenial competence. But the rate of change demanded of a leader in a city so steeped in tradition and continuity has accelerated as Santa Barbara’s political landscape — like the nation’s — has become more fractured and more polarized. In this context, Casey seemed more inclined to look for consensus from a council whose members represent individual districts rather than the city as a whole. Privately, some councilmembers have expressed frustration that Casey did not interject more of his own ideas than he did.