April 19, 2008
Iowa City Press-Citizen
(Paul Beecher, former City Manager of Dover NH, gives his excuses for the controversy surrounding his tenure here in NH as well as his firing from Arizona.)
Two Iowans, a Michigan resident and an Arizona resident make up a fresh batch of candidates for the Iowa City city manager post.
The candidates are Paul Beecher, former Kingman, Ariz., city manager; A. J. Johnson, Muscatine city administrator; Michael Lombardo, former Allegan County, Mich., county administrator; and Carl Metzger, Ankeny city manager.
The candidates are scheduled for closed interviews and to meet the public beginning Thursday and Friday, and then the Iowa City Council has an aggressive lineup of meetings over the following several days.
This is the second group of candidates to reach this stage. An initial group of five interviewed in February, but the council didn’t select one.
“I am optimistic, happy with the pool as a whole,” Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey said.
There are meeting times all weekend for the purpose of second interviews, Bailey said, adding, “Things move faster in the spring, and we want to move faster in this marketplace. It makes us more competitive.”
The council, which will make the hire, will interview the candidates Thursday in closed session. A public meet and greet is scheduled for 7:30 to 9 a.m. Friday in Iowa City Public Library Room A. Twelve closed meetings and work sessions are scheduled between Friday and May 4.
The four candidates come from a variety of backgrounds.
Beecher, who declined to provide his age, served most recently from 2005-07 as the city manager of Kingman, Ariz., population 29,000, after 12 years as city manager in Dover, N.H, population 28,000. Beecher, who is married and has two grown daughters, listed his years of experience and communication skills as his biggest assets.
“I have 30 years of experience in this position, and that background will provide good leadership for the organization,” Beecher said.
Beecher has a somewhat checkered professional past. He resigned in 1991 after six years as assistant city manager of Kansas City after purchasing a $948,000 lighting system for Kemper Arena without city council approval, according to the Kansas City Star.
Beecher was fired in 2007 by the Kingman City Council after concerns that he was not being open about public land deals, according to the Kingman Daily Minor.
In both cases, Beecher referred to himself as someone who was looked to for change but lost step with the city councils during turnover.
“There are times in your life you wish you could do things differently,” Beecher said. “In Kansas City, the city council looked at me as a young buck who would get things done, but council changed, and the new council was not into that sort of stuff. I didn’t realize it quickly enough. It was a political issue that I think they took farther than I thought they should have.”
As for Kingman, Beecher said the council had been supporting him in private but not in public.
“I said (to the mayor), ‘If you aren’t going to back me up, fire me,’ and that is pretty much what happened. It wasn’t an acrimonious parting, just a difference of philosophy. They didn’t want someone quite as aggressive,” Beecher said.
Bailey said she was aware of Beecher’s past but thought he had strong experience, and it would be worth bringing him to listen to what he had to say.
“From what I understand, other places are highly charged environments, even the city manger position. Certainly, these are things we will discuss with Mr. Beecher in the interview,” Bailey said. “It would be unusual to have a qualified city leader without some controversy. This might be more than what we are accustomed to.”
Johnson, 51, who is married and has two children, one in college and one high school, has served in Muscatine, population 22,697, since 1989. Before that, he was city manager for four years in Montevideo, Minn., and for four years before that he was assistant to the city manager in Sidney, Ohio.
“I bring a significant amount of Iowa experience in an Iowa community,” Johnson said, noting that he is familiar with state processes, surrounding communities and legislative processes.
Johnson said the demographic differences between the industrial Muscatine and the college town of Iowa City would be the biggest change and challenge.
Michael Lombardo, 43, is married and has two college-aged daughters and a son in grade school. Lombardo has been living in Michigan consulting for cities and counties since leaving his position with Allegan County, population 105,000, in 2006.
He had been at the post for four years. From 1999 to 2002, he was assistant city manager of Augusta, Maine.
“I am at a good point in my career to come to Iowa City,” Lombardo said. “(Assets are) the depth of my knowledge and experience, being even-tempered, being able to take long-range views at challenges ahead of us while handling day-to-day service needs.”
Metzger has been city manager in Ankeny, population 40,000, since 1985. Before that, he worked as city manager from 1979 to 1985 in Concordia, Kan., and from 1977 to 1979 as city administrator of Hillsboro, Kan.
Metzger did not immediately return telephone and e-mail messages.
Bailey said original candidates who have not dropped out still will be considered, but will not re-interviewed.
The city brought five city manager candidates to interview in mid-February — M.A. “Art” Chaudry, Lawrence Delo, Michael Matthes, Marketa Oliver and Susan Stanton — and interviewed Chaudry and Matthes a second time March 1. Delo, Chaudry and Matthes have withdrawn their names from consideration.
The city announced March 4 that the council would review additional applicants for the job.
April 27 will be the deadline for citizen comments on the candidates. Forms are available at City Hall and online.
It’s been more than seven months since Steve Atkins retired from the position after 21 years. Longtime assistant city manager Dale Helling has served as interim city manager.
The search, which has produced at least 67 candidates, so far has cost the city $24,181.51, including $15,688 for consultant fees and expenses for The PAR Group of Lake Bluff, Ill., $3,670 for candidate expenses and $3,884 for advertising.