Cronk announces finalists for two ACM posts

On Monday, City Manager Spencer Cronk announced the names of 10 finalists who will be interviewed in the coming weeks for two assistant city manager positions. The interim assistant city managers in those two positions, Joe Pantalion and Sara Hensley, are among the finalists.

In July, Cronk outlined the restructuring of his office around specific strategic outcomes. The first relates to economic opportunity and affordability, issues one of the new ACMs will be dealing with.

Notable among the finalists for that position is Rodney Gonzales, director of Austin’s Development Services Department. Gonzales has 12 years with the city of Austin, where he has earned praise for dealing with problems at the development department. Besides Pantalion, Gonzales is the only city employee among this group of finalists. Pantalion has served as interim assistant city manager since being promoted from his job as director of the Watershed Protection Department more than a year ago. He currently oversees the five departments that make up the Development Services group.

Also making the short list is Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino, an assistant city manager in Corpus Christi, who oversees multiple departments, including management and budget, finance and others; Paul Jadin, president of the eight-county Madison Region Economic Partnership, which is responsible for business retention and expansion; and Theresa O’Donnell of Dallas, who has served as director of planning and development and recently oversaw the development of two multi-departmental plans called Neighborhood Plus and the Resilient Dallas Strategy.

The second ACM position to be filled relates to health and environment as well as culture and lifelong learning.

Sara Hensley was promoted from her position as director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department in March 2017, to the interim ACM job. In that position, she has worked with libraries, health, Real Estate Services and Animal Services, as well as Parks and Recreation.

Also vying for the position is Christopher J. Shorter, who has served as director of the Washington D.C. Department of Public Works for the past three years. Another candidate is Noelia Rodriguez, the former managing director of communications and government relations for the Port of Long Beach, who also worked for former first lady Barbara Bush as her first White House press secretary.

Other candidates include Siobhan Reardon and Daniel Betts. Reardon is president and director of the Free Library of Philadelphia, and has worked to create computer and internet outposts in underserved neighborhoods as well as the Philadelphia International Airport. Betts is currently serving as the director of the Cincinnati Recreation Commission and has 20 years of executive-level experience in various positions.

Cronk announced that recruitment of the final two assistant city managers, who will be dealing with mobility and safety, has already begun, with finalists for the positions to be named in mid-January.

Photo by John Flynn.

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