Some Dallas City Council members say they were kept in the dark about almost fifty applicants seeking to become the next city manager. They learned about those applicants at Thursday’s Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs meeting.
Council members said Baker Tilly, the firm hired to conduct the search, missed a step in the process. They wanted to know how the firm narrowed the 50 applications to only the four semifinalists announced to the council in mid-November.
Other officials pressed the search firm staffers to explain why some of the other 46 applicants didn’t make it to their desk until the meeting.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua said during the meeting that he was “at a loss for words.”
“This list of 50 is embarrassing and I am curious where did the recruitment piece…lead you to this list?” Bazaldua said during the meeting.
Those applicants include a telecommunication vice president, an English teacher, a journeyman pipe layer — and a former commanding officer of a U.S. naval base. It also included a current mayor and several assistant city managers — one of whom left the city of Dallas earlier this year, according to documents reviewed by KERA.
That candidate was not interviewed, the search firm confirmed during the meeting.
Art Davis, a director with Baker Tilly, said it was somewhat unusual to only come up with four semifinalists for a position like this.
“But I also understand…the high level of scrutiny of a larger community and very, very complex organization,” Davis said.
But he also added that events in Dallas may also have deterred potential applicants.
“The issues that were surrounding this city over the last several months, I think, may have been a bit of a challenge,” Davis said. “We had a number of people we talked to that were interested but in final conversations they decided not to put in their applications.”
Dallas voters approved two controversial charter amendments that significantly changed the way local government operates. The city is now more vulnerable to litigation and is required to hire hundreds more police officers.
District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelson said if the propositions “scared off somebody, then they’re not the right candidate.”
Out of the 50 candidates, they were mostly male — with only 22% being women. Hispanic or Latino candidates made up 10% of the applicants, 36% were Black, 4% were Asian and 42% were White, according to a briefing presented to the committee.
Mendelsohn said she was “very disappointed” to only see four applications make their way to the council’s desk — and questioned how the firm went about marketing the search.
“I would question that maybe there wasn’t further outreach because we have a very large Hispanic population,” Mendelsohn said. “I would have liked to have seen more candidates that are Hispanic.”
But other elected officials wanted more detail on how the process has played out. Council Member Paula Blackmon, who represents District 9, said she had tried — and failed — to get the list of applications prior to the meeting.
She found out it may have been by design.
“Three times I’ve asked you for [these applications],” Blackmon said during the meeting. “What were your directions not to release this information?”
“I was asked not to respond by the person we are working directly with,” Davis responded. “…Not to send out any material, but to do so once we meet with the committee.”
Blackmon’s staff emailed Davis twice in late November and again in early December asking for the full list of candidates for the position. Davis informed Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, who chairs the administrative committee, of all three requests, according to an email obtained by KERA.
“As you directed, we are sharing this inquiry and continue to communicate through you, on behalf of the Dallas City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs,” Davis wrote. “We are committed to ensuring transparency and providing information according to established internal processes and complying with all legal requirements.”
Blackmon said this process should have been an open and transparent process, but it didn’t feel like it.
“…Because even I, couldn’t get [these applications] that finally showed up this morning,” Blackmon said. “Probably for some reason or another.”
Atkins indicated the process to hire a new city manager is sensitive. Once candidates apply and their names are obtained by the public and the media, it could cause problems with their current employers.
He also confirmed he hadn't seen the list of applicants until Thursday morning.
“I want to make sure I’m transparent about it, that nothing is behind the scenes, no hidden agenda,” Atkins said during the meeting. “But once I get it, it becomes public information. I just want to put that on the record.”
The committee will meet again on December 16 to come up with a plan on who to move forward with the process.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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