The Emporia City Commission reversed itself Friday, releasing the names of all five of its candidates for city manager.
Mayor Jim Kessler originally had said that the names would remain secret to protect the job security of each candidate. But on the advice of consultant Chuck Anderson, the commissioners decided that the names had to be released to keep the hiring process in a good light.
“We truly did, in our hearts, believe what we did Wednesday was correct,” Kessler said. “But after talking with Chuck Anderson ... he told us that maybe we ought to think about it. We don’t want to jeopardize the process with any taint.”
The list includes Emporian Dale Bell, chief financial officer and president of administrative services for TFI. Bell is the former assistant city manager and city attorney for Emporia. He is also a past city attorney of New Strawn and Lebo.
“I’ve always been interested in civil service and I’ve worked with municipalities for years and years,” Bell said in an interview Friday afternoon. “When this opportunity came up, I thought real seriously about it and talked with my wife about it. I had some others ask if I might be applying, so I thought I’d give it a shot and see how it went.”
The other candidates for the post, as reported by the city, are:
• Leroy Alsup, the county administrator of Cowley County. He is a former city manager of Coffeyville and of Cushing, Okla. and Brinkley, Ark. He has also served as director of economic development for Altus, Okla.
• Ronald Massey, the assistant city manager for public works and utilities of Corpus Christi, Texas. He is the former city manager of the United States Military Academy at West Point and has also served as assistant community administrator for the U.S. Army in Stuttgart, Germany and as community manager for the U.S. Military Community in Augsburg, Germany.
• Richard Olson, the city manager of Elizabeth City, N.C. He is the former city manager of Liberal, Iola and Greenacres, Fla. He has also served as interim director of planning and community development for St. Joseph, Mo.
• Matthew Zimmerman, the city administrator for Prospect Heights, Ill. He also served as village administrator for Manhattan, Ill. and Elburn, Ill.
Bell is the only candidate who lacks experience as a city manager, but said he didn’t think that would be a handicap.
“Certainly, that’s a benefit for those guys,” he said of the other candidates. “But with the broad experience I have, I think it lends itself to the position well.”
Bell will be the first candidate interviewed by the commission, starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday. He will talk with department heads in the afternoon. Both will be closed-door sessions.
The remaining candidates will be interviewed by the commission and department heads on Thursday and Friday. This will be the first time that commissioners have interviewed any of the candidates since the process began.
“After this initial interview, it is the commission’s hope that we will select finalists to return to Emporia for final interviews,” the commissioners said in a written release. “At that time, a public forum will be provided for citizens to meet and interact with the candidates. This is possibly the most important decision the commissioners will make during their tenure and we want to assure that the candidates are carefully and deliberately reviewed before a decision is made.”
The commission’s initial decision on Wednesday to keep the names secret drew criticism from local media, some city residents and even one candidate for the city commission.
“The city commission’s decision to conduct the important business of hiring a city manager away from public view is one more in a series of irresponsible decisions that have many Emporians feeling out of touch with the municipal government that is supposed to serve them,” candidate Phil Dillon said in a press release Thursday.
An online Gazette poll that asked readers if they approved of hiring the city manager in secret drew 227 votes, 80 percent of which opposed secrecy.
Forty-seven people originally applied for the job. That was gradually narrowed to a field of nine, who were personally interviewed by Anderson. Anderson then discussed the results with the commission by teleconference.
The prior city manager, Steve Commons, served in the post from 1986 to 2006.