And The Search Goes On…

By Sid Riley

Photo Caption: Kimberly Gainer, is serving as interm City Manager while the search is underway.

At a special meeting of the Marianna City Commission on Monday, February 04, the five member board narrowed the search for a new City Manager down to three candidates. The position was vacated in January when the previous City Manager, Louie Harris took a new administrative position at Chipola College.
The three remaining candidates were chosen from a host of applications submitted for the position. The three finalists are:
James Dean – Marianna resident, Graduate of Marianna High School, BA in Agri-Business, Masters in Business Administration, 9 years in US Marine Corps, extensive experience with Farm Credit, involvement in Economic and Community Development in areas of government and private lending.
Robert Mearns – Resident of Fernandina Beach, Florida, BA Degree from University of Delaware, Masters in Public Administration, Florida Atlantic University, Teacher, Government Finance courses at Florida Atlantic University, US Marine Corps. Previous City Manager for Fernandina Beach Florida, President of Management Consulting Firm, City Strategies, Inc., City Manager of Destin, Florida, City Manager of City of Orange, Florida.
James Vardalis – Resident of Stuart, Florida, Bachelor of Science in Human Services, Edison State College, Trenton, New Jersey, Masters in Justice Administration, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, Doctor of Public Administration, NovaSoutheastern University, Fort Lauderdale. US Marine Corps, Management Consultant in Public Administration and Education, City Manager of Sewall’s Point, Florida, City Manager, City of North Bay Village, City Manager, Golden Beach, Florida, Sergeant, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Taught at FIU, St. Thomas University, University of Houston-Downtown, and Broward Community College.
The Marianna City Commissioners approved calling these three candidates for a re-interview process to be held from 1:00 to 4:00 PM on Thursday, February 14. A final decision will follow those final pre-selection interviews.
Additional News:
While gathering information for this story the Jackson County Times discovered that long time Administrative Assistant to the City Manager, Marsha Kent, has resigned from her position and is no longer employeed from the city.