Peter Rumble, deputy county administrator, picked to serve as new CEO for Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce

Peter Rumble, a deputy county administrator who is guiding Sonoma County’s wildfire recovery initiatives, is leaving government again, this time to become an advocate for the business community as the new chief executive officer for the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber.

Rumble, 40, replaces Jonathan Coe, who stepped down last fall after eight years at the helm of the county’s largest chamber of commerce, which represents ?900 local businesses. He will oversee a staff of 18 employees and a budget of more than $3 million. His salary was not immediately available, but Coe earned $215,000 in overall compensation for 2015, according to tax records.

“I was impressed with his strong vision on topics including downtown and community development and look forward to his positive influence,” Mike Purvis, chamber board chairman and CEO of Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital and Novato Community Hospital, said in a statement.

Rumble starts Feb. 7. Unlike his predecessor, who worked in business organizations, Rumble’s work experience mostly consists of roles in government. He joined county government in 2007 as an analyst in the county administrator’s office and was promoted to director of health policy and planning in 2011. He was named deputy county administrator for the first time in 2013, then left government the following year to become CEO at California Clean Power, a Windsor company that helped cities and counties start their own renewable power programs. He returned to county government in 2016 when the firm was purchased by a San Diego company, serving as deputy county administrator for strategic initiatives.

Rumble’s appointment should spur the chamber to become a larger force for downtown development with the reunification of Old Courthouse Square and the opening of the SMART station at Railroad Square, both of which took place last year, said Ben Stone, executive director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.

“Peter is very smart. I think he will bring a new way of thinking to the chamber,” Stone said. “The opportunity is huge. You have all the components for the recipe there. It just needs a chef to bring them together.”

Indeed, Rumble said he wants to recruit firms outside the area, such as Silicon Valley, and help them locate new business units in Santa Rosa as it undergoes downtown development. The area has a burgeoning green energy sector with Sonoma Clean Power and Ygrene Energy Fund that could lure potential employers in that sector as well as workers who could also live downtown, he said.

“We got all the assets. It’s about bringing them together and showing them to employers,” Rumble said.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.