Finalists for the city manager job in Portland embarked on a weekend of in-person interviews Friday with tours of the city, one-on-one interviews with city councilors and a community reception at City Hall.

The three finalists are John Curp, the former interim city manager in Cincinnati; Alex McIntyre, the interim city manager in San Bruno, California; and Danielle West, Portland’s interim city manager.

“It’s been really good. Today felt like a very positive day,” Mayor Kate Snyder said during the reception in the State of Maine Room.

The candidates will meet Saturday with panels of staff and the City Council as a whole, and the council is expected to consider a recommendation for an appointment at one of its May meetings. The job is the top administrative position in the city, and was advertised with a salary range of $190,000 to $225,000.

During Friday’s reception, candidates had a chance to mingle with members of the public over snacks of fruit, cookies, vegetables and coffee. About 40 people attended and got to hear brief remarks from each candidate after a welcoming from Snyder.

FINALISTS INTRODUCED

Curp said he recently came across an article about the most engaged communities in the country and was intrigued to see Portland on the list.

“That is the exact environment that I think a manager wants to work in – a community where they can ask questions, get answers, listen, get feedback and gather more information,” he said. “It’s easiest to manage a community when you have that type of interaction.”

Curp also applied for the permanent city manager job in Cincinnati, but was passed over in favor of an assistant city manager. He said many of the issues at the forefront in Portland, such as homelessness and housing, also are challenges in other parts of the country.

“The country envies the lifestyle here and the amenities,” he said. “There are definitely challenges and opportunities to grow and develop the city.”

McIntyre said he isn’t just seeking to move just anywhere on the East Coast, but he sees Portland as a unique and special community. “This is a place to do good work,” he told the crowd Friday. “For me, I think I can do that good work for you.”

He said he has visited Portland before for vacation, and it left a special impression. “This is a city that really does things on the cutting edge, and that’s the kind of place I want to work,” he said in a short interview during the reception, citing some of the city’s work on diversity and climate issues.

McIntyre resigned in late 2022 from a previous job in Ventura, California, following concerns that were raised about use of a state-issued credit card to pay for a dinner and wine during a business trip in Sacramento and about a trip with the City Council to Washington, D.C., that wasn’t properly noticed under the state’s open meeting law.

McIntyre said the credit card issue stemmed from a waiter at the restaurant erroneously leaving a bottle of wine on the receipt rather than separating it on to a different receipt, and the mistake was caught and corrected through the reconciliation process.

He said the open meeting issue was an “honest mistake,” but that both things became issues for some people in the community.

“They kind of just kept beating that drum,” he said. “They were issues that weren’t really issues. They were both mistakes with no real meaning other than a human being made a mistake.”

West said she is interested in the job because Portland is home for her and she wants to continue the work she has done as interim city manager for the last 17 months. “I am very committed to this community, and I’m extremely committed to the staff who work tirelessly every day,” she said.

West toured the city with a department head Friday just as the other candidates did. She said the day went well. “It was great to hear from staff and to listen to how they view things and what their priorities are,” she said. “And it was great to hear from the councilors individually on what they’re looking for.”

COMMUNITY PRIORITIES 

Councilors on Friday said they were impressed by all three candidates, though some lamented that they only had 20 minutes to talk with each in their one-on-one interviews.

“I appreciated the engagement,” Councilor Mark Dion said. “They were well-informed about the city. I was pleased they had done their due diligence about the city so we could have a productive conversation that moved beyond mere introductions.”

He said the group interview Saturday will provide more opportunity to question the candidates and for councilors to reflect on what their colleagues’ priorities are. Dion said it will be important for the next manager to provide stability for staff and advance their interests, and assist the council in developing strategies on key issues such as homelessness, employee retention and taxes.

“The biggest challenge is we have so many interim (department heads),” Dion said. “It’s difficult to invest in an initiative if you’re not going to be the person that resolves it. … I think that’s what’s unsettling to staff. So I’m paying attention to their understanding, their concern and ideas about how to reenergize the workforce. If our workforce is in a better position, I think the quality of services will be more consistent.”

“They’re all very impressive and have great professional experience,” Councilor Regina Phillips said. She said she asked the candidates, including West, why they want to be in Portland and what their priorities are. She said priorities for the council include addressing housing the homeless and racial and social equity.

“For me, it’s about open, honest and authentic communication and relationships,” Phillips said. “We’re all not going to agree and that’s OK. It’s a matter of finding solutions and if we don’t agree, just saying, ‘We don’t agree,’ and let’s move on.”

Susy Kist, a Portland resident who attended the reception, wants to see the next manager tackle more aggressive climate change policies, including transitions to renewable energy, and retiring vehicles and equipment that run on fossil fuels. “This is where we can have the most impact – where we live,” Kist said.

Kist hadn’t yet had a chance to talk to the candidates early into Friday’s reception, but said that she favors West. “We need somebody who’s ready to go, who’s familiar with the players and hopefully is respected by the staff,” she said.

Resident George Rheault, meanwhile, hopes all three candidates are considered equally. “If you want the status quo to change, maybe you need a change agent from outside the city,” Rheault said.

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