The next Cincinnati City Manager will not be on the job by the end of summer as planned. Finalists for the job were supposed to interview with City Council this month, but officials say that part of the process hasn’t started yet.
Mayor Aftab Pureval’s final choice was expected to get a council vote at a meeting next week. A representative from Pureval’s office says the timeline was delayed so they could get more feedback from city employees and community stakeholders. The next opportunity for Council to confirm a new city manager will be early September.
The city paid at least $60,000 to the executive search firm Polihire, which promised to deliver highly qualified and racially diverse candidates. The city also needs a permanent police chief. A separate executive search firm, CPS HR Recruiting, was just chosen this month. The next city manager is expected to help make the final choice for the next police chief.
Twenty-one people have applied to be city manager, the highest-paid position in the city (currently about $273,000 a year). City officials declined a records request from WVXU for a list of applicants. The Cincinnati Enquirer published the list earlier this week, having requested the information “with the assistance of its attorney when the city expressed hesitance about releasing the entire list.” The city then released the information to WVXU as well.
Applications came in from 10 states across the country and one Canadian province.
The 18 men and three women have a wide variety of experience in local government. Two are already working at City Hall: Interim City Manager John Curp and Assistant City Manager Sheryl Long. Another city employee has applied as well: Building Inspector Mark Gillespie, who started working for the city in August 2021.
Applicants include city and county administrators, mostly from communities smaller than Cincinnati. A couple have left jobs in the past under somewhat controversial circumstances. A few come from private business instead of public service.
Full list of applicants
Not all previous jobs are listed. Click each name for a link to the full resume.
Bobby Boyd – Portage, Michigan
Current job: Community Outreach and Diversity, City Manager’s Office
Previous jobs: Project Manager at Lowes/UHS (2019-2021), Commercial Development Account Executive at Comcast (2011-2018)
David Bryant – Cleveland, Ohio
Current job: Cleveland Contract Compliance Administrator
Previous jobs: Assistant Property Management Specialist at First Class Real Estate Team (2015-2022)
Brandon Caminero – Wixom, Michigan
Current job: Project Manager, NCMS and Director at Co-Creator School of Athens (nonprofit)
Previous jobs: Army Project Manager (2015-2020), Army Transportation Logistics Manager (2009-2015), Army Network Manager (2005-2009)
Current job: Cincinnati Interim City Manager since January 2022
Previous jobs: Attorney at Blank Rome (2014-2021), Cincinnati City Solicitor (2008-2014), Attorney at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister (1995-2008)
James Freed – Port Huron, Michigan
(revoked) Credentialed City Manager through the International City/County Management Association
Current job: City Manager of Port Huron, Michigan since 2014
Previous jobs: City Manager of Stanton, Michigan (2011-2014), Village Manager of Lakeview, Michigan (2008 to 2014)
The International City/County Management Association censured Freed and revoked his City Manager credentials last month, according to the Port Huron Times Herald. The censure was over “a social media post directed at Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and an email about not pursuing an employee COVID vaccine mandate.”
Nichalos Gardner – Fairfax, Virginia
Current job: VP of Engineering and Architecture for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (since 2017) Architecture (2017 to present)
Previous jobs: Director of Transportation and Public Works in St. Louis (2015-2017)
Mark Gillespie – Cincinnati, Ohio
Current job: City of Cincinnati Building Inspector since August 2021
Previous jobs: Project Manager for Overberg Construction (2019-2020), Sales Analyst for Tyson Foods (2015-2019), Maintenance Supervisor for Village of Newtown (2014-2015)
David Johnston - Ft. Wright, Kentucky
Current job: unknown
Previous jobs: City Manager of Covington, Kentucky (2017-2021), City Manager of Maple Valley, Washington (2009 to 2016)
Current job: unknown
Previous jobs: Sloan Fellow at MIT (2020-2021) President of Mid America Logistics in St. Louis (2016-2020)
Sheryl Long – Cincinnati, Ohio
Current job: Cincinnati Assistant City Manager since April 2019
Previous jobs: City Administrator for City of North College Hill (2016 to 2019), Communications Director for City of North College Hill (2013 to 2015)
Credentialed City Manager through the International City/County Management Association
Current job: Acting City Manager of Fernley, Nevada
Previous jobs: City Administrator of Fitchburg, WI
According to the Fitchburg Star, Marsh left his job as City Administrator in January 2021 before a investigation into alleged misconduct could be completed. The newspaper reports Marsh was arrested in Myrtle Beach in October, 2020 “after allegedly getting into a fight at a restaurant over refusing to wear a mask and complaining about a long wait for a table.”
Marsh was recently a finalist to be the next City Manager of Lake Mills, Wisconsin, according to the Lake Mills Leader.
Mark McCormack – Fort Thomas, KY
Current job: Director of Planning and Zoning for Dearborn County (Indiana) Plan Commission since 2006
Previous jobs: Zoning Administrator for Dearborn County Plan Commission (2003-2006), Designer/Planner/Builder for The Performance Group (2002-2003)
Michael Meleca – Toronto, Ontario
Current job: Senior Manager (Director), Ryerson University Project Management Office
Previous jobs: VP Construction and Development (Contract) for Amacon Developments (2017-2018), Capital Development Advisory Committee for North York General Hospital (2016-2020)
Current job: County Administrator for King George County Virginia since July 2021
Previous jobs: Independent Private Contractor (2020-2021), Executive Director for Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority (2016-2020)
Patrick O’Connor – Atlanta, Georgia
Current job: unknown
Previous jobs: Finance Director for College Park, GA (2017 to 2018), Interim County Manager for Fulton County, GA (2014 to 2015), Finance Director for Fulton County, GA (1996-2014)
O’Connor was fired from Fulton County in 2015 after an audio recording surfaced of him complaining about county leadership, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Willie Pass – Abingdon, Maryland
Current job: CEO Wilmington (Delaware) Housing Authority since Nov 2019
Previous jobs: Director of Operations, Rochester (New York) Housing Authority (April to Nov 2019), Chief Financial Officer for Marin County (California) Housing Authority (2018-2019)
Sadia Sattar – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Current job: Deputy Budget Director of Analysis and Communications for Philadelphia (2019 to present)
Previous jobs: Senior Associate for Guidehouse LLP in DC (2018-2019), Budget and Planning Advisor for the Government of the District of Columbia (2018), Management and Budget Specialist/Supervisor for Arlington County Police Department (2017-2018) and Fire Department (2015-2017)
Current job: unknown
Previous jobs: City Manager for Deltona, Florida (June 2015 to Jan 2020), Deputy City Manager El Paso, Texas (2008 to 2015)
Shang resigned from her job in Deltona, Florida after a vote of no confidence from the City Commission, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Reasons included “lack of communication, concerns from multiple city staffers about Shang’s managerial style and an agreement allowing a firefighter accused of sexual harassment to eventually retire.”
Robert Sivick – Dalton, Georgia
Current job: County Administrator for Whitfield County Georgia since 2021
Previous jobs: County Administrator for Waushara County Wisconsin (2017 to 2021), City Manager for Willamina Oregon (2016 to 2017), City Attorney, Acting City Administrator, Acting HR Director for Grand Island Nebraska (2011 to 2016)
Jeffrey Weckbach – Cold Spring, Kentucky
Current job: Assistant Administrator for Colerain Township since 2018
Previous jobs: Senior Policy Manager for Hamilton County (2017-2018), Budget Analyst for Hamilton County (2014-2017)
Khalil Zaled – Palos Hills, Illinois
Current job: VP for Special Projects, KCI Technologies (since Jan 2018)
Previous jobs: Deputy City Manager for Public Works and Transportation for El Paso TX (June 2016 to Jan 2018), Deputy Mayor for Operations for Baltimore (Dec 2012 to June 2016)
