Week in Review : MAJOR EVENTS, IMAGES AND PEOPLE I ORANGE COUNTY NEWS : CITIES : Santa Ana Reaches Into Own Ranks to Find Replacement for Robert Bobb

David Ream doesn’t seem to lose his temper much, and he is credited for working well with superiors and subordinates alike.

Aside from his qualifications, those temperament characteristics seem to have swayed the Santa Ana City Council into naming Ream the new city manager and calling off a nationwide search promised after the current city manager, Robert C. Bobb, resigned to take a similar job in Richmond, Va.

Ream, 41, now executive director of community development, takes over the city’s top administrative post July 7, when Bobb’s resignation becomes effective.

The appointment, although surprising, drew good reviews from both citizens and city officials. They see Ream’s appointment as a stabilizing force for the city, which in the past year has been embroiled in several controversies, ranging from the construction of a new indoor sports and entertainment facility to a challenge from a citizens’ group to change the city’s governmental structure.

Santa Ana has had seven city managers since August, 1978, although three of those have been temporary appointments. The longest term among permanent city managers was A. J. Wilson, who left to become city manager of Kansas City, Mo., in 1983 after three years and four months.