Five finalists are in the running to become the new Davenport city administrator, including a trio of familiar Quad Cities names and faces.
Joining Tim Gleason, the current interim Davenport city administrator who is in the running, are: retired Col. Daniel Mitchell, a former Rock Island Arsenal commander now with Fontaine Consulting, LLC, East Moline; and East Moline City Administrator Mark Rothert.
Joining them as Davenport finalists are Troy Anderson, assistant city manager at Wichita, Kansas, and Carl Geffken, former city administrator at Fort Smith, Arkansas, the city announced in a news release.
The public is invited to meet all five finalists from 4-6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2, at a reception in the Adler Theatre lobby in downtown Davenport.
All five finalists will participate in four interview panels, including with members of a special search committee, Davenport City Council, city staff, and community members, a city news release said.
The finalists were selected by a special committee that included: Ruby Batimana, Ald. Jade Burkholder, Bill Churchill, Ald. Tim Dunn, Dwayne Hodges, Ald. Mark Holloway, Christina Kastell, Karen Kline-Jerome, John Nagle, Ald. Jazmin Newton, and LaDrina Wilson.
The special committee will receive feedback from each of the interview sessions to recommend the top three candidates to Mayor Jason Gordon. His final selection must be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the city council.
About the search
The city engaged with executive search firm Colin Baenziger & Associates to lead the nationwide search, the release said. Using the process laid out in city code, the 11-member special committee chose those five finalists to participate in the formal interview process.
The special committee includes four members of the Davenport City Council and seven city residents who represent the areas of finance, municipal and/or business administration.
The City of Davenport began searching again for a city administrator after Doug Maxeiner resigned at the end of October. He cited significant health issues. In the interim, the city named Mr. Gleason to the role effective Nov. 3. He was hired via MGT Impact Solutions (formerly GovTemps). It’s an executive recruiter focused on local government hiring.
