City manager’s last day is June 28. What then?

City Manager Tommy Gonzalez
El Paso Inc. file photo

By the time a permanent city manager is hired by City Council, the intensifying late spring heat – as well as the colors of fall and first freezes of winter – will have passed.

The city is in the early stages of finding a permanent replacement for City Manager Tommy Gonzalez. At the end of last month, the city closed its request for proposals for executive recruitment services.

Gonzalez’s last day with the city is June 28. Cary Westin, the city’s former senior deputy city manager, was appointed interim city manager for when Gonzalez departs.

“I think the hardest part is that there will be some really extraordinary candidates, and we have to say who we think is best for the city of El Paso, which candidate is the best match with the city’s goals, challenges and strengths,” said city Rep. Brian Kennedy. “It will take a while, but I think it should.”

Mary Wiggins, human resources assistant director for the city, said staff is evaluating proposals received by executive search firms for the city manager hiring process, and expects the issue to go before City Council in June.

Once a search firm is hired, Wiggins said they’ll meet with City Council members to understand the scope of the work and what the city is looking for in a final candidate.

“They also will be meeting with the public, with different groups to get an understanding of what our community wants and needs, what are they looking for, the high points in a city manager,” Wiggins said.

The final four or five candidates will be brought in for interviews with different panels and community groups. From there, city staff will take its recommendations to council, which votes on who gets chosen.

Of course, all of this is contingent on City Council, and that initial meeting in June. There’s also no set date for when a permanent hire could be made.

“A wish date, in a perfect world if everything goes perfectly as planned, my wish would be we’d be able to finalize a candidate sometime in November,” Wiggins said.

Until then, Kennedy said El Paso is lucky to have Westin as interim manager.

“We’re extraordinarily lucky of having an unbelievable individual as interim manager while we do this search,” Kennedy said.

Most El Pasoans can’t do much beyond speculate who the next city manager might be.

Former El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said he’d support Westin for the permanent spot.

“He spent his days at the precursor to The Bordeplex Alliance, he’s retired military, has all the attributes necessary, and I would strongly support his candidacy,” Margo said.

Joyce Wilson, El Paso’s first city manager, speculated that the city could be eyeing someone familiar with city manager work.

“I’m assuming that if they’re using a professional firm, they’re committed to looking for someone with city manager experience, who has been city manager before, or deputy, in a large city,” Wilson said.

She became El Paso’s first city manager when the city adopted that form of government. Nearly 20 years later, El Paso is getting ready to hire only its third city manager.

“If it’s someone with experience in city management, they’ll come in and have a good sense of what they need to do to be successful,” Wilson said. “Someone like me coming from outside of the community, get to know everyone, the business and nonprofit sector, mayor, neighborhood groups.”

Kennedy said that the ideal candidate will have strong financial skills as a given, and needs to understand El Paso’s place along the border.

“We’re a very unique culture. We have a unique relationship with the military in this town,” Kennedy said. “We are right on the border. Most cities don’t have that as a feature, and they need to have some understanding of that.”

Email El Paso Inc. reporter Sara Sanchez at sesanchez@elpasoinc.com or call 915-534-4422.