Bob Engler chosen as Thousand Oaks mayor for 2022

Mike Harris, Ventura County Star
·2 min read
Thousand Oaks Mayor Pro Tem Bob Engler was chosen by the City Council Tuesday night to be the city's new mayor for the next year. The first term councilman is shown here speaking at a 2018 candidates forum.
Thousand Oaks Mayor Pro Tem Bob Engler was chosen by the City Council Tuesday night to be the city's new mayor for the next year. The first term councilman is shown here speaking at a 2018 candidates forum.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Pro Tem Bob Engler was chosen by the City Council Tuesday night to be the city's mayor for the next year.

"It's a pleasure for me to be part of this group up here on the dais," Engler, 70, said after the council voted 5-0 to have him succeed Claudia Bill-de la Peña as mayor.

"We, as a group, are working well together," said Engler, a councilman who served as mayor pro tem for the past year. "We don't always agree. We have 4-1 votes, 3-2 votes, 5-0 votes. But we always work together. And I'm hoping that I can bring that forward in this next year."

The mayor of Thousand Oaks is the ceremonial head of the city who presides over City Council meetings among other duties such as signing proclamations.

Unlike some other cities such as neighboring Simi Valley, the mayor of Thousand Oaks is not elected. The mayor is selected each December by the City Council.

It is Engler's first time as mayor. A former Redondo Beach Fire Department chief, Engler was first elected to the council in 2018 and faces re-election in 2022.

He is the 58th mayor of the city, which incorporated in 1964, according to Bill-de la Peña.

Engler said Bill-de la Peña "has left a huge pair of shoes up here for me to try to put my feet into. And I can only hope to live up to her expert example that she has left for me."

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Councilman Ed Jones was selected as mayor pro tem, who fills in for the mayor in the mayor's absence.

Jones first served on the City Council from 1970 to 1974 and was elected again in 2018. In between, he served on several elected and appointed boards, including the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

In stepping down from her fourth stint as mayor, Bill-de la Peña noted that it was her 19th year on the council.

"And I didn't think I had anything else or more to learn," said Bill-de la Peña, first elected in 2002. "And you know what? Every year you learn something new. And so that is really what I will take from this entire year."

Earlier Tuesday, she gave the annual state of the city address at the Fred Kavli Theatre, largely recapping the city's past year.

That included hiring a new trash collector, Athens Services, rather than staying with the city's two long-standing waste haulers, E.J. Harrison & Sons and Waste Management. The switch, which Bill-de la Peña said will bring "significantly lower rates" to residents, becomes effective Jan. 1.

Bill-de la Peña has declared her candidacy to seek election in June to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors District 2 seat, which includes Thousand Oaks.

Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at mike.harris@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Thousand Oaks Mayor Pro Tem Bob Engler chosen as city's next mayor