He acted as a city manager for a total of 30 years[REF] for the cities of Kalamazoo, Michigan (1977-1984 );[REF] Santa Ana, California; Richmond, Virginia (1986-1997);[REF] Oakland, California (1997-2003);[REF] and Washington, D.C.(2003-2006).
During Bobb's tenure at Oakland, California, the city was governed under a new and unique hybrid system which combined a strong, elected mayor with a full-time professional city manager.