The Secret List

Who will be Hendersonville's next (first) City Administrator?

Well, we can't know because City officials are keeping the names of the five finalists secret. This seems to fly in the face of open records laws, but City officials insist their behind the scenes behavior is totally appropriate.

The Hendersonville Standard has more:

The list of those vying to be Hendersonville’s first permanent city administrator has been narrowed down to five, according to Dave LeMarbre who currently holds the position on an interim basis.   

The list will be narrowed down further before it’s made public who the final candidates are, LeMarbre added. 

The candidates include: 

A county administrator from Mississippi; a chief of staff for a city council in Wisconsin; a former city manager from Ohio; a police chief from Kansas; a chief administrative officer for a mayor in Alabama; a deputy city manager from a city larger than Hendersonville in Virginia; a chief of staff for a city manager in a large city in Florida; an interim village manager in Illinois; a city manager from a small East Tennessee town; the chief executive and administrative officer for a Pennsylvania city of similar size and budget to Hendersonville; and a town manager for a small town in North Carolina with a budget about one-fourth the size of Hendersonville’s.

One woman and one professional who is currently working in Tennessee are among the 11 candidates. None of the candidates are former or current Hendersonville employees, nor are any of the candidates current or former Hendersonville elected officials. 

The secrecy surrounding the process is allegedly to avoid further "political strife." However, it seems that by keeping the names of applicants secret, the process is only adding to the tension surrounding the process.

Typically, the selection process for public officials is relatively transparent. Lists of names are released once the application deadline is met. As the process narrows candidates, the list of finalists is also typically released. Often, meetings to narrow candidates are held in public, with opportunities for public forums or other comment on potential leaders.

It's not clear what statutory authority City Attorney John Bradley is using to justify this super secret process.

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