New asst. city manager comes by way of Ventura

Served in Canadian Armed Forces

Clifford

Clifford

City Manager Dave Norman announced April 17 that Tulson “Tully” Clifford, Ventura’s director of public works, will be the next assistant city manager of Camarillo.

Clifford, 60, will begin work May 29.

Tom Fox, the city’s current assistant city manager, is retiring after about two years in the post. Fox, 57, has spent 27 years at City Hall. Before serving as assistant city manager, he was director of public works.

“We really had a big hole to fill with Tom retiring on June 1, and I am pleased to have found his replacement in Tully Clifford,” Norman said in a statement. “Tully has the technical experience and leadership skills we are looking for to help the organization complete its biggest projects over the next few years.”

Clifford, who has spent decades in local government, said he is looking forward to working on issues related to water, especially Camarillo’s desalter plant.

A native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Clifford moved to Ventura County in 2012, serving as director of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District for four years before he was named public works director of Ventura in 2016.

Before that, Clifford worked for the cities of Santa Barbara and Solvang in California and for the City of Calgary and the municipality of Crowsnest Pass in Alberta.

An engineer by training, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the Royal Military College of Canada and served with the military engineers in the Canadian Armed Forces. He earned his MBA from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.

Clifford said he’s eager to begin his new job in Camarillo.

“I think it’s a wonderful city,” he said. “One thing I like about it is it’s very well laid out. It has a safe feel to it, and it’s clean and inviting.”

Cameron Kiszla