Ideas for new City Manager

[Pete]

There will be internal candidates (you can bet Eric Wenger will get strong consideration) but let's hope a wide search is conducted with the best possible selection as the result.

Seems to me there are two general categories to look at: 1) A strong #2 at a bigger city and/or one that has been managed in a successful and progressive way; and 2) A current CM at a smaller city who has shown great promise.


The OKC job is a very good one, so I hope we aim high.

Any particular names that we should be putting forth?

[shawnw]

Mick Cornett?

:-P

[GoThunder]

Jeffrey Williams is the planning and development director for Kansas City.

Here's an excerpt from the linked article:

"Williams has 25 years of experience in the fields of urban design, historic preservation and planning for local and county governments. Prior to joining Kansas City's Planning and Development Department, he served as the commissioner of planning and development for the cities of Yonkers and Mount Vernon in New York."

https://www.bizjournals.com/kansasci...-director.html

[shawnw]

haha jinx

[HangryHippo]

There will be internal candidates (you can bet Eric Wenger will get strong consideration)

Hard pass.

[TheTravellers]

Hard pass.

Would be a disaster for progressive thinking, no, no, no, no, not Wenger.

[Pete]

Maybe we should fly Russel Claus back from Australia.

Probably not enough money in the world to get him back here.

[LordGerald]

Maybe we should fly Russel Claus back from Australia.

Probably not enough money in the world to get him back here.

Claus will never come back until we solve the OKC Public Schools situation. Which, is, never.

[jonny d]

Claus will never come back until we solve the OKC Public Schools situation. Which, is, never.

If he were City Manager, he would have a say in helping it...

[shawnw]

If we're bringing in a Planner, we should just bring Claus back, how cool would that be?

[catch22]

Ben Wyatt?

[bucktalk]

Any idea as to salary package for this position?

[Pete]

Any idea as to salary package for this position?

Couch was making just over $250K.

[ABryant]

I dislike nepotism. But I vote for Blair Humphries.

[HangryHippo]

I dislike nepotism. But I vote for Blair Humphries.

Is he at all interested?

[TheSteveHunt]

I dislike nepotism. But I vote for Blair Humphries.

Not bad

[LuccaBrasi]

I have zero insights on this and I'm certainly not advocating it, but I thought there had been chatter in the past that Eric Wenger was being groomed as the successor.

[Pete]

It's my understanding that Cathy O'Connor has expressed interest in the position.

If that is the case, then we can talk about this all we want but she'll get that job.

[shawnw]

oh boy

[Pete]

If O'Connor pursues the city manager job, you have to ask: Why?

She is already paid about the same amount for running the Alliance, manages less than 20 people instead of almost 5,000, only deals with relatively sexy projects like new employers and developments, and gets to do all this outside of open meeting and records laws.


There was a lot of talk that the Alliance was specifically formed to keep her happy since Couch was seemingly entrenched forever (O'Connor was the Asst. City Manager).

Perhaps now she is expected to return that favor to those who were behind the Alliance in the first place?

[shawnw]

Makes sense, though it's not the fresh perspective we need.

[TheTravellers]

Good ol' boy network finally makes it into the 21st century by letting women in....

[jonny d]

Good ol' boy network finally makes it into the 21st century by letting women in....

Moving for the sake of motion?

[Midtowner]

Moving for the sake of motion?

O'Connor would probably be the best hire. We can bring in outside perspective in hiring subsidiary positions. We'd be smart to have someone who already knows who the players are, how things work, and where the bodies are buried.

[TheTravellers]

O'Connor would probably be the best hire. We can bring in outside perspective in hiring subsidiary positions. We'd be smart to have someone who already knows who the players are, how things work, and where the bodies are buried.

She'd be better than Wenger, at least.