The search for Dallas' next city manager just got a shakeup.
Mark Washington, the current city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was on the shortlist for the same role in Dallas, but withdrew his name from the running, according to media reports.
And a second candidate — DeKalb County, Georgia Chief Operating Officer Zachary Williams — is no longer on the list of finalists being reviewed at a scheduled meeting Monday, according to three sources inside city hall.
Both Washington and Williams were named semifinalists for the city manager position in a mid-November report sent to members of the Dallas City Council.
But in a statement reported by Michigan media outlets, Washington said while he was “carefully examining other options, the Grand Rapids City Commission unanimously approved my contract.”
“Therefore, I have withdrawn my candidacy from all city manager recruitments,” Washington’s statement said.
Meanwhile, Williams was replaced on the list by Mario Lara, an assistant city manager in Sacramento. It's not clear if Williams dropped out or if he was removed from consideration. KERA News reached out to Lara's office, and will update this story with any response.
Now, elected officials will consider three candidates for the city manager position at Monday's meeting, sources confirmed to KERA on Friday.
In addition to Lara, the candidates are Dallas Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth.
The move comes after a series of contentious discussions and dueling meetings inside Dallas City Hall. What was slated as a regular Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs last week, turned into a completely different affair.
City council members learned the outside firm hired to conduct the search withheld the names of almost 50 other applicants at the behest of Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins — a move that led to questions about transparency in the search process and what one council member called an “embarrassing” candidate list.
The city directed requests for comment to Atkins' office and to the search firm, Baker Tilly. KERA News reached out to both, and will update this story with any response.
As a result, District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon, District 11 Council Member Jaynie Schultz and District 13 Council Member Gay Donnell Willis submitted a memo to call a special meeting earlier this week to discuss the search process.
Most of the city council skipped that meeting.
“We just wanted the ability to discuss with our colleagues our concerns and hear from them and have them hear from us,” Willis said during the Monday meeting. “We were ready to interview, informally, virtually, three of the semifinalist candidates.”
Another meeting was scheduled later that same day to discuss the same issue. It was held almost entirely behind closed doors. When the council emerged — it voted to call yet another meeting on Dec. 23 to continue the discussion.
Right now, Tolbert appears to be the frontrunner in the search, though nothing is final. In addition to taking on the role in an interim capacity, she's been in and around Dallas City Hall and other North Texas government agencies for decades.
On Thursday, she was endorsed by the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters Association, which called her leadership “not only visionary but inclusive, embodying the spirit of collaboration that defines the strength of our city.”
Frank Mihalopoulos, owner of Corinth Properties and a prominent member of Dallas' business community, said during the special-called Monday meeting he has been dealing with Dallas City Hall since the 1970s and lauded Tolbert’s leadership.
“For the last six months I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kim Tolbert,” Mihalopoulos said. “For over 30 years I’ve never seen the light at City Hall…for the first time I have seen the light and its not a train coming, it is a real light.”
Mihalopoulos served as the chairman of a political action committee formed specifically to oppose a slate of conservative-backed charter amendments. Two of those measures passed. leaving the city more vulnerable to litigation and mandating the hiring of hundreds more police officers.
Whoever's tapped as the next Dallas city manager will have to navigate through the new amendments, while also filling vacant executive positions — like the chiefs of both the police and fire departments.
The city’s administrative affairs committee is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss the candidates. That meeting, like earlier this week, could be held entirely behind closed doors.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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