Oak Ridge city manager retiring after long career in public service

Donna Smith, Oakridger
·2 min read

Mark Watson, Oak Ridge's city manager for more than 12 years, has announced his plans to retire.

He made the surprise announcement at the end of Tuesday night's Oak Ridge City Council work session in the Municipal Building Courtroom.

Watson said he'll retire on May 5 and the next day he and his wife, Jenna, plan to attend the graduation ceremony for their daughter Hilary, who will receive an master's degree from Oklahoma State University. Spending more time with his family is one of the reasons the 68-year-old gave after the meeting for his decision to retire.

He looks forward to that and sleep, he joked.

Mark Watson
Mark Watson

Watson said he will be wrapping up 47 years of public service when he retires. He's served as city manager in eight cities in four states: Arizona, Montana, Texas and Tennessee. He started his job as city manager in Oak Ridge in August 2010. Jenna and Mark Watson plan to remain in Oak Ridge after he retires.

Council members said there will be a national search for a new city manager. Council member Jim Dodson pointed out that Deputy City Manager Jack Suggs can step into the role if there's a time gap between Watson's retirement and the hiring of a new manager. Asked if he'd apply for the city manager job, Suggs - the city's longtime electric department director - said he would need to think about that before making that decision.

As reported in The Oak Ridger at the time, Watson was the top pick of 82 candidates for the job. He served as city manager in Yuma, Arizona, before taking the job in Oak Ridge. He replaced Jim O'Connor who resigned in January 2010 to become city manager of Winchester, Virginia.

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 city manager Mark Watson retiring after more than 12 years