Noah Schuchman will transition from interim to permanent city manager of Golden Valley. According to Council Member Sophia Ginis, this was Schuchman’s hope when he applied for the interim position.
Dr. Reggie Edwards, the current city manager of Brooklyn Park, and Michael Reese, who has experience managing cities in Ohio and Missouri, were also considered. Interviews took place in June, but the council did not quite coalesce around one candidate. The city announced the finalists on June 17 and hosted a meet-and-greet with the public on June 20. The three candidates were interviewed on June 22, but he meeting was tabled until June 24, when the council continued deliberations for about an hour.
While some council members were ready to offer Schuchman the job, Mayor Roslyn Harmon asked for more time with each candidate to be certain the council performed its due diligence.
“I’m always someone who has to lead with my heart and look at all variables,” Harmon said about extending the process.
In a second interview session July 1, the three candidates were asked how they would fill a senior leadership position. The video of their interviews is available online at bit.ly/3XO2lm4.
After the three presentations, Ginis spoke first.
“While all the candidates brought very eloquent processes together and really good points, [Schuchman] was best able to really articulate every step of the way and stay very clear in how he walked us through that process from start to finish,” Ginis said.
Council Member Maurice Harris also preferred Schuchman. He added that Schuchman clearly understood each person’s role in the city, whether that be council, staff or city manager.
“The last couple years I think we’ve had an issue with that,” Harris said. “... in order for us to move forward we need to have clarity of roles, understanding what [each] us do.”
For Council Member Denise La Mere-Anderson, picking just one was difficult because each of the three people “would bring different strengths” to the city. She added this final interview let her look into each candidate’s thought process.
La Mere-Anderson said Schuchman was the best candidate. She pointed out Schuchman’s awareness of vision and capacity management.
Council Member Gillian Rosenquist said Schuchman was her top pick as well, especially Schuchman’s strategic plan for bringing council and staff together.
“This is an important moment for Golden Valley,” Rosenquist said. “To have somebody who’s committed to that process and being able to clearly articulate and communicate that, that vision and that plan is a skillset that this community very much needs.”
The mayor agreed Schuchman was the best person for the job.
“From the moment we met Noah it was like there was this spark,” Harmon said.
Listening to candidates describe exactly how they would approach filling a senior leadership position brought the five elected officials of the Golden Valley Council a unanimous decision. They want Noah Schuchman.
Schuchman previously served as the chief administrative officer for the city of Duluth and director of regulatory services for the city of Minneapolis. He has been serving as interim city manager for the city of Golden Valley since spring when Tim Cruikshank retired.
A contract will likely be reviewed by the July 16 city council meeting.
Most Popular
Comments / 0