Sequim city councilors will meet behind closed doors at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, to evaluate the qualifications of city manager candidates.
They could make a choice after the executive session, according to an announcement by Bobbie Usselman, deputy city clerk.
Following council’s unanimous decision not to tender an offer to its former first choice – Vernon Stoner of Olympia – only Mark Gervasi and Steve Burkett remain after Subir Mukerjee of Olympia said he no longer was interested in the post.
Although Stoner re-mains a candidate, his chance of selection is slim in the shadow of allegations of sexual harassment by one of his assistants in his former job as deputy director to state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.
Stoner, 61 and African-American, is suing the state for at least $1 million, claiming he was fired for reasons of race and age.
On Friday, councilors are scheduled to meet with the city’s executive search consultant, Waldron & Associates of Seattle, who didn’t discover the action against Stoner – ultimately settled for $50,000 – until after it was leaked in an anonymous letter to the Sequim Gazette.
The remaining candidates are:
Mark Gervasi
Gervasi graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in history. He received a master’s degree in public administration from Brigham Young University in 1983.
He was city manager in Jefferson, Ore., population 1,825, from 1991-1994. He worked as city manager in Lafayette, Ore., population 1,800, from 1994-1997.
Since 1997, Gervasi has been city manager and planning director in Tillamook, Ore., population 4,350.
He is past president of the Columbia Pacific Economic Development District, a private nonprofit that administers loans to start-up businesses.
Gervasi has applied for other city manager or city administrator jobs during his tenure in Tillamook:
• In May 2007, he applied to be the city administrator in Molalla, Ore., population 5,800.
• In August 2007, Gervasi applied for the city manager job in Damascus, Ore., population 9,775.
• In May 2008, he applied for the city manager job in Sunnyside, Wash., population 15,130.
Steve Burkett
Burkett graduated from Western Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1967 and a master’s degree in public administration in 1969.
He was an administrative intern for the Phoenix, Ariz., city manager from June 1969 to April 1970, when he became an administrative assistant. He became a management assistant in July 1971.
Burkett became assistant to the Corvallis, Ore., city manager in August 1972. After six years, he was named acting city manager for several months before becoming deputy city manager in 1979.
Burkett became city manager in Springfield, Ore., population 57,224, in 1979 at the age of 34.
During his tenure in Springfield, Burkett applied for the city manager job in Kirkland in July 1985.
He resigned from Springfield in February 1986 to become city manager in Fort Collins, Colo. Burkett resigned from that position in October 1994 and became city manager in Tallahassee, Fla. He applied for the Eugene, Ore., city manager job in November 1996.
He resigned from the Tallahassee job in March 1997 and became president and CEO of the The Woodlands Community Service Corporation in The Woodlands, Texas, in late 1997. It is a private nonprofit corporation providing city services to the master-planned community of The Woodlands, Texas.
He resigned from The Woodlands in April 2001 to become Shoreline city manager in May 2001. He resigned that position in December 2005 after four new members were elected to that city’s council.
In early 2006, Burkett joined Management Partners, a national consulting firm to local governments. He applied for the city manager job in Bainbridge Island in February 2008 and for the Port of Edmonds executive director job in April 2009.
