Public Will Get Chance To Meet Austin City Manager Finalists

AUSTIN, TX — City officials have whittled down their list of finalists for the vacant city manager's position to two candidates, and the public is invited to meet and listen to them in an upcoming town hall.

Spencer Cronk and Howard Lazarus are now the two top contenders for the job of city manager that's been vacant for more than a year after Marc Ott resigned to take a job in Washington, D.C. The city originally had a list of six finalists before the final two candidates emerged.

In an effort to promote transparency in the selection process after being accused of conducting the search in secrecy, the city has scheduled a public town hall. At the event, members of the public will be able to size up the candidates for themselves.

Related story: Austin Mayor Releases Names Of City Manager Job Finalists

The event is scheduled to take place at the Austin Convention Center at 500 E. Cesar Chavez St. this Tuesday, Dec. 12, beginning at 7 p.m. The town hall will include formal presentations from both candidates a moderated talk and a Q&A. The town hall also will air live on ATXN-TV and on the city’s website and Facebook.

For those wishing to attend in person, the convention center doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Free parking will be provided at the parking garages at 601 E. 5th St. and 201 E. 2nd St.

Following is a snapshot of each candidate for the Austin city manager job, as previously reported by the Austin American-Statesman:

• Howard Lazarus is the one finalist to have worked in Austin, serving eight years as the public works director. He departed last year to become city administrator of Ann Arbor, Mich. and formerly served as engineering director in Newark, N.J. Lazarus served in the military, after graduating from West Point, according to the Ann Arbor News.
• Spencer Cronk has been city administrator of Minneapolis since 2014. A native of Minnesota, Cronk previously worked for the city of New York, and later as a commissioner in Minnesota's Department of Administration.

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