The Sitka Assembly has whittled its list of top job candidates by half. That leaves eight applicants vying to be Sitka’s next city administrator.
The Assembly fast-tracked its search for a new top manager following a contentious 4-3 decision to fire City Administrator Keith Brady after less than two years on the job.
Since then the City and Borough of Sitka has received at least 16 applications.
The Assembly reviewed 15 received by the deadline at a special meeting Thursday (8/22/19).
Interim administrator Dave Miller stood before a large easel and checked off names as assembly members listed their favored applicants as about a dozen members of the public watched.
Assembly member Richard Wein suggested the Assembly interview nine of the 15. And while he said experience was important, he wanted the assembly to consider candidates with other attributes, too.
“The more interviews we do, in essence, the better we understand what these qualifications mean and how to rank them,” he said.
But Mayor Gary Paxton took a different tack. He said they need someone with a background in leadership.
“I think having experience as a city administrator, or at least complex organization is critical,” he said. “We just had a problem with an administrator we all sort of liked. But his failing was he didn’t have experience in dealing with complex organizations.”
As members voted down the line two strong frontrunners emerged: John Leach a senior Coast Guard aeronautical engineer who’s lived in Sitka.
The other is Cordova City Manager Alan Lanning.
Other familiar names in the running include former Sitka police chief Sheldon Schmitt and Marko Dapcevich who served as Sitka mayor a decade ago.
Read the redacted applications and resumes of all eight candidates here
Assembly member Valorie Nelson says she’s heard some pushback over hiring a former mayor. But she thinks Dapcevich deserves a shot.
“I had plenty of emails saying that the former mayor, Mr. Dapcevich, should not even be granted an interview, which I tend to disagree with. People have called me vitriolic. They’ve attacked me for votes that I’ve made,” she said. “But I think we need to make the best decision for Sitka.”
Dapcevich has since had a contentious relationship with the local government. He file a 2017 lawsuit accusing the city of violating procurement laws in a dock project at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park. A judge ruled in favor of the city last year. Dapcevich now splits his time between Sitka and Arizona, and works as a construction manager for a company based in Olathe, Kansas.
The next round will involve video conference interviews for the remaining eight candidates. Those interviews have been scheduled as special meetings on the following dates:
- Thursday, August 29 5:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, September 3 5:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, September 4 6:00 p.m.
In the meantime, Sitka fire chief Dave Miller is filling in the role as top administrator.
Watch the full (8/22/19) Sitka Assembly meeting here
Editor’s Note: In the first published version of this story, KCAW reported that Richard Wein advocated the Assembly interview nine of 15 candidates for city administrator. Some of the candidates Wein listed had no formal experience running a local government. We stand by that reporting.
But … in paraphrasing, Wein’s arguments, Raven Radio stated that Wein said it didn’t matter to him that some candidates had little municipal experience. He never said that at the meeting.
Here’s a longer excerpt of Wein’s comments:
We hope this further clarifies the assembly member’s position. Raven News strives to be fair and accurate. Our news line is 747-5879.
