FORT BRAGG

Fort Bragg's new city manager is Lassen County administrator Andy Whiteman, who has been hired to guide the town's oceanfront development.

Whiteman, 56, served as a county administrator in Lassen County and in Montana for the past 12 years, and before that worked nine years as a senior financial analyst for the city of Denver.

In late May, Whiteman will assume his new post, which pays $110,000 a year.

"I'm looking forward to it. The city is in transition, and I think I can help the effort," Whiteman said.

The City Council's decision to hire Whiteman comes at a time when Fort Bragg is about to launch a major planning and rezoning effort surrounding future uses of the former Georgia-Pacific Corp. mill complex, a 400-acre swath of land between the town's Main Street and the Pacific Ocean.

Fort Bragg Mayor Jere Melo said Whiteman's experience in public revitalization projects in Montana and Lassen County was a major factor in his hiring.

"He is best known as one who works effectively with people, achieving community goals in a very positive and constructive manner," Melo said.

Whiteman was selected after a four-month search.

He succeeds former City Manager Connie Jackson, who resigned late last year to take a similar position with the city of San Bruno.

Whiteman was selected from a field of 17 applicants who were interviewed.

Whiteman has visited the Mendocino Coast as a tourist and is a contestant in the city's annual Whale Run.

Whiteman holds a bachelor's degree from Emory University in Atlanta, and two master's degrees, one in business administration from the University of Montana and the other in public administration from the University of Colorado.