Asheville City Council to skip community meet-and-greet, vote on city manager Oct. 17

In a surprise announcement, city officials said on Oct. 15 that they had chosen a finalist in Asheville’s city manager search. The position, currently filled on an interim basis by Cathy Ball after Council’s unanimous firing of Gary Jackson in the wake of a police beating scandal, is the city’s most powerful unelected administrative role.

City spokesperson Polly McDaniel had previously written, in a Sept. 11 email to Xpress, that “We expect there will be an opportunity for the public to meet the finalists.” However, no such community meet-and-greet is scheduled before Council’s planned vote to execute the manager’s contract on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 4 p.m. in council chambers on the second floor of City Hall.

“The Council just made a decision that they had a strong candidate aligned with their vision of where we were going, and they took the opportunity to negotiate a contract with that person,” said city Director of Human Resources Peggy Rowe immediately after the announcement. “It was just a clear finalist, clearly someone that would take the city where it needs to go.”

Rowe did not divulge any further details about the candidate, citing the confidentiality of the process, although she appeared to indicate that the new manager will be female. “I don’t want to reveal enough specificity as to who the candidate is that we would run afoul of her — of it being confidential at this point,” she said.

Asked about the decision to forego a community meeting with the finalist before Council’s vote, Rowe said that the extensive public input collected over the previous few months had been taken very seriously. “We sought a great deal of input on the process, and that’s why we came up with the profile that we used to do our national search,” she explained. “We’re very excited about this candidate, and I think the city will be too.”

Press release from the City of Asheville:

Asheville City Council will hold a special meeting at 4 p.m., Oct. 17, in council chambers, second floor of City Hall, to vote on executing a contract with the anticipated City Manager candidate.

City Council’s initial intention had been to hold a community meet-and-greet for the finalists; however, the anticipated candidate was so well-aligned with the input received from the community, City Council and staff that City Council has decided to move forward with the anticipated candidate.  The anticipated candidate had strong support from community stakeholders, City Council and the City leadership team.

 The new city manager and City Council will meet at the Twisted Laurel at 130 College Street, Asheville, N.C., following the public vote to execute a contract.  The community is invited!

There will be additional opportunities for the community to meet the new City Manager.

Please contact Interim Assistant City Manager Peggy Rowe at prowe@ashevillenc.gov for additional information. Find more information about the City Manager search on this web resource page.