Evanston Will Disclose Finalists For City Manager Job

EVANSTON, IL — Evanston city officials will disclose the identities of finalists to become its next city manager after narrowing the list of candidates.

Aldermen last week met with leaders of executive search firm GovHR to review applicants and picked candidates for a first round of closed-door interviews Friday, according to a statement from city staff.

Candidates selected to move to the second round next week will then be revealed to the public and invited to take part in a 90-minute online community forum Wednesday evening, staff said.

Advance registration is required for the forum, which will be held through Zoom video teleconferencing software. Questions may be also submitted for possible inclusion in the candidates' forum via an online form on the city's website.

No information about how many finalists are expected to participate in the public interview process will be available until aldermen deliberate, according to city staff, but candidates selected to participate will be announced on the city's website prior to the forum.

The city manager is the chief administrator of the city and the only employee of the City Council. The job is responsible for all other city staff, formulating the city's policies and procedures and drafting budget proposals for the City Council to consider.

In February, the City Council hired GovHR to help hire a permanent replacement for former City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz, who departed in September 2019 after nearly a decade in the role to take over the administration of the town of Issaquah in the Seattle suburbs.

Erika Storlie has served as interim city manager for the 12 months since Bobkiewicz's resignation. Storlie has worked for Evanston's municipal government since 2004 and in the city manager's office since 2011, becoming Bobkiewicz's deputy city manager in 2013 and assistant city manager in 2018.

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In May, citing the coronavirus, Mayor Steve Hagerty moved to bypass the search process and hire Storlie on a permanent basis. However, he withdrew the attempt in July following protests from residents and a suggestion from Storlie that she values a public process and considers it core to Evanston's identity.

After the Wednesday's community forum, aldermen plan to meet again in closed session to identify a finalist, and GovHR will be responsible for negotiating a contract, according to city staff. After those negotiations conclude, aldermen will announce the new city manager and approve a contract at the next City Council meeting.

RELATED: Aldermen Reject Mayor's Request For Closed-Door Hiring Discussion With GovHR

Update: The three finalists for the position set to take part in Wednesday's forum at are Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, city manager of Petersburg, Virginia, Marie Peoples, deputy county manager of Coconino County, Arizona; and Erika Storlie, interim Evanston city manager.