Meet the 3 finalists for Salem city manager
After a four-month-long search, the Salem City Council has selected three candidates for consideration as Salem’s next city manager.
The city is hiring to replace Steve Powers, who retired in February. Powers had served with the city since 2015.
City Urban Development Director Kristin Retherford has been serving as interim city manager.
More:Salem city manager Steve Powers announces retirement
The three candidates will be in Salem June 15 to answer questions from city staff and community members.
The candidates are:
Taylor Adams, who currently is deputy city manager for Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Keith Stahley, who currently is assistant city manager for Olympia, Washington.
Eric Zimmerman, who most recently served in the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh and was previously deputy city manager for Medford.
Throughout the daylong interview on June 15, there will be opportunities for the mayor and City Council members, city leadership and labor leadership to speak with and question the candidates via virtual interviews and socially-distanced panel discussions.
More about the candidates
Adams has served as the deputy city manager for Virginia Beach since 2015.
He was previously the chief administrative officer for Starkville, Mississippi, for three years and received his master of business administration degree from Hult International Business School and his bachelor of business administration in marketing degree from Mississippi State University.
Stahley has served as the assistant city manager for Olympia since 2019.
He also worked as the assistant city manager and as Olympia’s community planning and development director for 14 years.
Stahley received his master of public administration degree from Florida Atlantic University, his bachelor of landscape architecture degree from Syracuse University, and is an International City/County Management Association credentialed manager.
Zimmerman was the Oregon bilateral affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 2021 to 2022.
He began his local government leadership career in 2007 with Multnomah County, first in the Division of Assessment, Recording, and Taxation and then as a chief of staff to a commissioner.
He then worked as the assistant city manager of Tigard and the deputy city manager of Medford from 2017 to 2021.
Zimmerman also has served in the Oregon Army National Guard since 2007 and was deployed to Iraq, Kosovo, and Dhaka, Bangladesh, and is currently assigned to an Army National Guard unit in Salem.
He received his executive master of business administration in nonprofit management degree and his bachelor of science in organizational communications degree from the University of Portland.
How to participate
Beginning at 6:30 p.m. June 15, a virtual community forum will be aired on CC:Media Channel 21, and livestreamed to YouTube with simultaneous translation to Spanish and American Sign Language.
Community forum participants will have an opportunity to evaluate the candidates’ strengths immediately following the interview panel, city officials said.
Those who want to ask a question must submit it no later than 5 p.m. June 14. Those asking questions will need to share their first name and neighborhood or ward.
The role of the city manager
The city manager is appointed by the City Council and serves as the chief executive officer of the city, working under the policy direction and goals of the council. The city manager prepares the annual recommended budget for consideration and provides the council with information on future operational needs, policy matters and regulatory requirements, and directs day-to-day administration of the city.
The listed salary for the position was $220,000 to $250,000.
Following the June 15 interview and virtual community forum, members of the Salem City Council may conduct a site visit of the candidates’ communities prior to making a selection.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: What to know about the 3 final candidates for Salem city manager post
