Oak Ridge City Council selects Randy Hemann for city manager

By a 5-2 vote Friday afternoon, the Oak Ridge City Council chose Randall W. "Randy" Hemann, town manager for Mooresville, North Carolina, as the new city manager for Oak Ridge.

The council voted to give Mayor Warren Gooch and City Attorney Tammy Rackard the authority to contact Hemann and begin working with him on his contract as city manager.

Gooch, Mayor Pro Tem Jim Dodson, council members Chuck Hope, Charlie Hensley and Sean Gleason voted for Hemann.

Council members Derrick Hammond and Ellen Smith cast the two votes for Aretha R. Ferrell-Benavides, who most recently was city manager in Duncanville, Texas. She was fired by a 4-2 vote of that city's council earlier this year.

Oak Ridge city council members explain their votes

Each council member spoke about the quality of the two candidates, but then explained why they were voting for either Hemann or Ferrell-Benavides. Because Gooch allowed the council members to his left to speak first - since he'd allowed those to his right to go first at the previous meeting - all five supporting Hemann spoke first, followed by Smith and Hammond.

Gooch began the meeting by saying the vote for city manager was "the most important business this council will have." Later, he said he identified with Hemann's model of servant leadership and his philosophy of managing staff - giving employees broad parameters, managing them loosely but watching them closely. He said he was also impressed with his interactions and partnerships with state and federal officials, pointing out Hemann's comment at the public forum that he worked with North Carolina Department of Transportation for the city to do some road projects that were in his city, but under the jurisdiction of the state.

Gleason spoke of Hemann and his alignment with the core values for the city manager's job identified by the city council, which included citizen engagement, economic development, a diverse workforce and recreational activities.

Hensley said Hemann thought like an engineer, like himself. He said in talking about the Oak Ridge Reservation land currently held and not used by the federal government, Hemann said if the city gained control there could be economic development around a center that was left for hiking and bike trails, and this could attract other people and businesses. He said Ferrell-Benavides had a more broad and philosophical approach in her answers to questions.

Dodson said he sat in on the meeting with the candidates and the school superintendent, board of education chairman and others. He said he was choosing the "best fit" for the city manager's job and he said that was Hemann.

Hope said he was present when finalists met with leaders in the city at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce building. He said while talking with Hemann about the city having to work with the leaders of Anderson and Roane counties, Hemann asked questions while they looked at an area map. He said after the 15-minute discussion, Hemann told him the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle had come together for him and he now realized the challenges and opportunities the city faced in being located in two counties. Hope said he also spoke to people who'd worked with Hemann and they had only positive comments.

Smith said one of the other candidates for the job said being a city manager used to be a person managing the city government, but now it had expanded to be the "ambassador or public face of the community." She said Ferrell-Benavides had the energy and job experience to be the "new sheriff" Oak Ridge needed and might change the relationships the city has with state and federal officials.

She has the "outward facing leadership we need at this phase of our history," Smith said, calling attention to her work in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and in a wide range of jobs across many states. Gooch later pointed out that Ferrell-Benavides' work in Los Alamos - as city/county administrator - was in 2003 to 2004, for about a year and "20 years ago."

Hammond said the city council was in a "win-win situation" in hiring a city manager at this time.

"We've got a solid operational team here," he said of the city government employees. He said the incoming city manager wouldn't have to micromanage because of that solid team. He said this provides a significant opportunity for a city manager with enthusiasm to go out and "be the face of Oak Ridge" and positively impact the city's relationships with its neighbors - officials with federal and state governments, as well as the areas surrounding the city.

Hammond said while he wasn't saying Ferrell-Benavides had been treated unfairly or that the process was unfair, as an African-American man watching this, he said, "while some things change, some things don't."

Hammond said he appreciated the process and opportunity, but said there needed to be some work on biases. He said whomever was chosen he would support as city manager.

The public speaks

Members of the audience were allowed to speak prior to the council vote during the special called meeting at the Municipal Building courtroom. Four spoke in favor of Ferrell-Benavides, two more on related matters.

Oak Ridge resident Kowetha Mack said she'd been part of the whole process, watching the council interview the six semifinalists online, as well as attending Wednesday night's public forum with Hemann and Ferrell-Benavides. She said she'd ranked the six semifinalists and also picked Ferrell-Benavides and Hemann as her top candidates.

"Randy (Hemann) is more of a continuum of Mark Watson," she said, referring to Oak Ridge's 12-year city manager, who retired in May. She said Ferrell-Benavides showed energy and willingness to get out and be with the people of Oak Ridge, and to engage with the city staff and community.

Oak Ridger Anne Garcia, who formerly served on the council, said of Hemann, "The energy is not there." She said Ferrell-Benavides would bring a new look, new energy and mindset - different than what she'd witnessed living in Oak Ridge the last 34 years.

"I think Oak Ridge needs a change," said resident Teresa Green. "I'm tired of looking at white men leading this city. (Ferrell-Benavides) is absolutely the very best person for the job."

Oak Ridge's new city manager Randy Hemann

Hemann was born in Huntington, West Virginia. His resume shows he has a bachelor's degree in political science from Marshall University in Huntington and a master's degree in public administration from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. A large portion of his career has been focused on development in the North Carolina areas where he's worked - Salisbury, Kinston and Benton. He indicated economic and downtown development have been big parts of his role as town manager in Mooresville, assistant city manager in High Point, and city manager in Oxford, his three most recent positions, all in North Carolina.

In response to one citizen's comment that Hemann is close to retirement, Gooch said Hemann had told him he planned to work at least another 10 years.

The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.

Support The Oak Ridger by subscribing Offers available at https://subscribe.oakridger.com/offers

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Oak Ridge names Randy Hemann city manager