City Manager Search Down to Three Finalists; Public Invited to Reception to Meet Candidates Friday, May 20th…

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Councilor Jill Duson, Search Committee Chair Cheryl Leeman and Colin Baenziger, Colin Baenziger & Associates, Recruiters.

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 780)

The public is invited to a reception to meet the three finalists in the search for a city manager on Friday, May 20th, from 5 pm – 6:30 pm.   The reception is to be at the State of Maine Room in  City Hall.

The three finalists picked from the original sixty-five applicants are:  Acting City Manager Patricia Finnigan, Julian Suso and Mark Rees.  Finnigan was formerly city manager for thirteen years in Auburn.  Julian Suso is currently the town manager of Framingham, MA (population 68,000).  Mark Rees is currently Town Manager in Andover, MA. (population of 30,000).

“Hiring a new City Manager is one of the most  important decisions the City  Council makes and we are excited to present to the public three outstanding finalists who have exemplary skills and experience,” stated C ommittee Chair Cheryl Leeman.  “The quality of the applicant pool speaks in many ways to the draw of the City of Portland the opportunities our city presents to professionals that are, in my opinion, unparalleled in the Northeast.  We found ourselves in the enviable position of being able to choose finalists from some of the best the counry had to offer.”

A press release from the City of Portland continued:  “The City  Couoncil commenced its search for a new city manager in February following the retirement of City Manager Joseph E. Gray, Jr. Gray retired from public service after a forty-year career with the city and town management. The search committee has been assisted by  Colin Baenziger of Colin Baenziger & Associates, the national search firm speializing in city and town management.

City Council interviews will begin this weekend and it will make a final recommendation for City Manager next month.

For additional information on the search process including resumes of the three finalists, visit the city’s website at http://www.portlandmaine.gov/citymanager.htm.

For more background information posted herein, please visit post # 771, dated May 5th.