DeBary to interview 5 for city manager

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
In the running — Acting DeBary City Manager Anthony Gonzalez checks out the Night Out event at Florence K. Little Town Hall Aug. 4. Gonzalez made the final list of candidates to be interviewed Aug. 11 for the city-manager post in DeBary.

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Aug 11, 2009 - 9:21:28am

DeBary City Council members will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, to interview five finalists for the position of city manager.

The list of five was achieved after the City Council whittled down a list of 86 applications with help from the Range Riders, a group of retired city and county managers and administrators who volunteer their services to cities.

The city-manager job came open after the council fired City Manager Maryann Courson April 15, citing a lack of confidence in her. Mayor Bob Garcia cast the sole dissenting vote.

The interview session is set as a special City Council meeting. That means the council could vote and hire one of the candidates Aug. 11.

City Clerk Stacy Tebo said City Council members could finalize their decision Aug. 11, or they might continue the discussion until their 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, meeting.

Tebo said the City Council has allotted one hour per candidate for interviews. That means the interviews will run until at least 6 p.m.

Candidates for city manager to be interviewed Aug. 11 are:

• John J. Drago of Apopka. He has served as Longwood’s city administrator for the past 10 years, and claims more than 20 years of executive experience in local government, including stints at the cities of Winter Springs and Okeechobee. Drago has a master’s of business administration in business management from Georgia College.

• Edward F. Smyth Jr. of Leesburg. He’s currently deputy city manager of Leesburg, where he has served since 2002. Smyth was assistant county administrator for Mathews County, Va., 1999-2002, and was Main Street Program manager for Clifton Forge, Va., before moving to Florida. He has a master’s degree in public administration from Rutgers University in Newark, N.J. Smyth also earned a certificate as public manager from Florida State University.

• Kenneth S. Weaver of Johnson City, Tenn. He’s been city administrator of Spring Hill, Tenn., since 2008, and lists among his experience stints as city manager for the City of Eunice, N.M., 2005-07, and city administrator for the City of Lewisburg, W.Va., 2000-01. He holds a master’s in business administration from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.

• Ed Sadler of Webster City, Iowa. He’s been city manager there since 2006. He was assistant city manager for the City of Aspen, Colo., where he worked 1999-2006. Sadler also lists experience working with municipal water and wastewater programs, and hazardous waste in Arizona and Missouri. He earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

• Anthony Gonzalez of Orange City. He’s been assistant city manager in DeBary since 2005, and acting city manager since Maryann Courson’s departure in April. Before that, Gonzalez was the city’s parks and recreation administrator for two years. He worked for the City of Orlando’s Community and Youth Services as recreation-program coordinator and regional facility supervisor 1995-2003. Gonzalez has a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of Central Florida.

The public is welcome to observe the interviews.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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