By Stan Matthews
County Interim Internet Technology and Communications Manager
The San Juan County Council will host a series of open house meetings on Monday, May 13, to give residents a chance meet the top candidates for the position of County Manager. Islanders will be able to talk with the finalists for the job in an informal setting in sessions on Orcas, Lopez and San Juan Islands, and then provide feedback through the recruiting agency.
After the new Council members are sworn in on Tuesday, May 14, the Council will conduct in-depth interviews with the candidates, along with separate panels made up of community members and representatives of the County staff. The Council is expected to reach a County Manager hiring decision either that evening or on the morning of May 15th.
The open houses will also give the County Manager candidates the opportunity to learn firsthand about the unique qualities of the islands and their residents.
Open House Meetings – Monday, May 13:
Orcas Island – 10:00-11:00 am at the Eastsound Fire Station
Lopez Island – 1:30-2:30 pm at the Lopez Community Center
San Juan Island – 6:30-7:30 pm in the County Courthouse lobby in Friday Harbor
Members of the community are encouraged to attend the open houses. Questions about the recruitment process and events can be directed to Human Resources staff at 360.370.7403.
Short career summaries for each finalist follow:
Kerry Burns is currently the Interim Assistant City Manager/Community Services Director for the City of San Bruno, California. Prior to that she was the Assistant City Manager for the City of Daly City, California, a position she held from 2007-2012. During her 25 year career in public service in California, Ms. Burns has also served the City of San José Fire Department as Deputy Director-Administrative Services, the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department as Administration Manager, the City of Union City as Redevelopment Agency Manager, the City of Fremont as Special Assistant to the City Manager, and the City of Norwalk as Budget & Grants Administrator. Ms. Burns has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Administration degree, both from the University of Southern California.
Jim Pascale resides in Hopewell, New Jersey, and was most recently Township Administrator for Princeton Township, New Jersey, where he served in that position continuously for 30 years. Early in his career, he was also Administrator for Mahwah Township, New Jersey, for four years. Mr. Pascale has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Studies and a Master of Public Administration degree, both from Rutgers University, New Jersey.
Michael Pence has been the County Administrator for Flathead County, Montana, for the past 8 years. He has over 32 years of city and county management experience and has been the City Administrator for Kemmerer, Wyoming, City Manager for Ocean Shores, Washington, City Administrator for Sibley, Iowa, Auditor for Hardin County, Iowa, and Deputy Auditor for Grundy County, Iowa. Mr. Pence was also Commercial Development Manager for the Quinault Land & Timber Enterprise, Ocean Shores, Washington, for five years. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa.
Suzanne Sinclair lives in Seneca Falls, New York, and is currently Senior Capital Projects Accountant for Finger Lakes Health, Geneva, New York. Prior to that, she was County Manager for Seneca County, New York, from 2008-2011. Ms. Sinclair was Island County (Washington) Auditor for ten years and served as Accounting Supervisor for the county’s Public Works Department prior to becoming Auditor. Early in her career, she also worked for Edwards & Associates, CPAs, in Freeland, Washington, for almost 10 years. Ms. Sinclair has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Central Washington University, Lynnwood, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana.
Michael Thomas has been the City Administrator for the City of Enumclaw, Washington, for over three years. Prior to that he served the city as Community & Economic Development Director for five years. Mr. Thomas has 24 years of experience in local government in Washington and he has been a Senior Policy Analyst for the King County Executive’s Office-Office of Management & Budget, Senior Planner for the cities of Burien and Federal Way, and he was Assistant Director of Planning & Economic Development for the City of Aberdeen. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from the University of Washington and a Master of Public Administration degree from Seattle University.
David Wilbrecht is from Mammoth Lakes, California, and was most recently Town Manager for that community where he was hired to deal with the town’s financial crisis and potential bankruptcy due to a lawsuit. Prior to that, he was County Administrative Officer for Mono County, California, for eight years, and he was also Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services for Mammoth Lakes from 2000-2003. Mr. Wilbrecht has 18 years of local government experience in Washington, including Deputy Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services for the City of Federal Way and Parks Division Manager for the City of Redmond. Early in his career, he also worked for the City of Auburn and for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Planning Department. Mr. Wilbrecht has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Central Washington University and a Master of Public Administration degree from Seattle University.
It is disappointing that there were no local candidates who survived the first cut. Is it possible that nobody from San Juan County was equally as impressive as any of the folks on this list (or equally as, um, eager to change jobs after only a few years)? Perhaps the Council should reopen the job listing. One or more of the recent candidates for Council might make a good county manager.
Yes! Moana brings up a possibility that might really benefit the county. The County meets next Tuesday in Friday Harbor, and can be contacted at council@sanjuanco.com. This Tuesday, May 7, is the last date of the “Winter Council” and the following Council meet comes after the May 13 “Meet the Candidates” Open Houses. Hopefully it’s not too late to consider re-opening the job listing.
Council spent what seemed like hours at the time emphasizing that the headhunter needed to bring local candidates with different backgrounds than professional government employees. Using the talent we have here, people who understand the culture, people who have run successful businesses, people with a stake in the community other than the salary (which is still way too high) and benefits.
Did Council change its position on this? Or did the headhunter fail to provide what he was asked for?
As nice and qualified as some of these listed folks might be, none seems likely to fill this very difficult transitional role. Square pegs, round hole. Again.
Applications for the position of San Juan County Manager closed on April 8, 2013.
According to Pamela Morais, Human Resources Director for San Juan County, 44 applicants applied for the position. Five of the 44 were local applicants of which one made the final cut, but has since withdrawn their application as they have found other employment. The County Council has selected and voted on the six best possible applicants from this group to be interviewed.
I hope everyone would join me in welcoming and meeting the six finalists at one of the three open house activities to be held on Lopez, San Juan and orcas islands.
Very disappointing. No serious experience in the world outside of local bureaucracies. No demonstration of creative successes that might make us better. No large county operations audit experience. Leadership skills? What will a relocation package from, say Hopewell, New Jersey cost us? Looks like a gleaning from employment ads. I hope we did not pay a large fee for this search.
It sounds like that in the transition of things regarding the Council that we lost the definition of what we were recruiting for. We do NOT have a position of “County Manager” to fill any more. Here is quote from The San Juan County Home Rule Charter that mandates the description of the opening we were supposedly recruiting for is:
“An appointed rather than elected County Administrator/Manager”
Even that is flawed. It should have been “County Administration Manager”
Under the Home Rule Charter the County Manager is the Council. According to the CRC, the Council is now a full time job instead of part time as in past so they can MANAGE. A person with heavy management experience would die in the position over night.
Another quote from CRC which was accepted by voters:
“Requiring the Council to hire a County Manager to whom they will delegate administrative functions and day to day operations as they see fit…….”
That isn’t the definition of a manager. Wonder if the head hunter read this.
I will not question the process for this position, but… the question begs, will we get as much diversification applying for this position as we had for the county council elections? They were very impressive, and no one questioned their abilities, just their politics. We need a well tuned manager understanding the dynamics of a unique, vibrant and complex island county. Always there is a score card, what counts for the high score sometimes gets lost in the process.