SEPT. 7 INTERVIEWS: Traverse City manager candidates named

Jordan Travis, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read

Sep. 1—TRAVERSE CITY — Five candidates will interview to become Traverse City's next city manager, and two won't have to travel far.

Search firm Amy Cell Talent released the names of the candidates commissioners chose Monday after reviewing 13 applicants out of an initial pool of 88. City leaders initially chose six, but one candidate withdrew after finding a job elsewhere, Mayor Pro Tem Amy Shamroe said.

City Clerk Benjamin Marentette and Grand Traverse County Deputy Administrator Chris Forsyth are on the list.

Marentette has been on the job since 2011, previously serving as deputy city clerk and executive director of the Traverse City and Garfield Township Recreation Authority, according to the release. He graduated from Spring Arbor University, has a master of business administration degree from Lawrence Technical University and a public leadership credential from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Forsyth became Grand Traverse County's deputy administrator in 2018 and previously served as the county's deputy civil counsel. He graduated from the University of Michigan and earned his juris doctor from Wayne State University.

Marentette and Forsyth will interview second and fifth, respectively, on Sept. 7, with Elizabeth Vogel set to go first.

Vogel is Missaukee County's administrator and chief financial officer, serving in that role since 2021. Vogel also was Clinton Township's deputy supervisor and graduated from Albion College before earning master's degrees from Loyola University and Baker College.

After Marentette, commissioners will interview Christian Wuerth, Milford's village manager since 2014. Before then, he was assistant city manager and management analyst in Birmingham. He graduated from Wayne State University with a bachelor's degree in public affairs.

Fourth to be interviewed will be Jessica Kinser, most recently Marshalltown, Iowa's city administrator. She served in the same role for Clinton, Iowa, prior to that, as well as finance director and assistant city manager. She also was the city administrator of Griswold, Iowa. Kinser graduated from Iowa State University with a master of public administration degree.

Shamroe said commissioners narrowed the candidate field based on the elements they were looking for as a group.

"I think I'm really pleased with the search and the results," she said. "I think we got some excellent candidates to choose from and some excellent candidates to interview.

"I think all of them, based on what we saw, have a lot of great potential for the city, so I am personally excited to talk to them on the 7th and learn a lot about them."

With interviews starting at 10:45 a.m. and stretching into the afternoon, the day will conclude with a 5 p.m. reception where the public will have an opportunity to meet the candidates, Shamroe said.

She expects city commissioners will make their decision at their Sept. 11 meeting.

Whoever commissioners hire will become the top administrator replacing the former city manager, Marty Colburn, who the commission dismissed in April, giving little public explanation for doing so. Nate Geinzer is serving as interim city manager, and his contract is in effect through October.