The city of Fort Worth released the following information regarding the four finalists for city manager:
From the city:
Following a national search, Fort Worth City Council announced four finalists for the city’s new chief executive. The finalists will be brought in for another round of in-person interviews with the City Council Feb. 25. The search for a new Fort Worth city manager began Oct. 16, 2013, when current City Manager Tom Higgins announced his retirement following his three-year tenure in the city’s top job. Higgins will serve in his current role until a replacement is appointed.
Finalists Milton R. Dohoney, Jr., former City Manager Cincinnati, Ohio Milton R. Dohoney, Jr., was appointed City Manager of the City of Cincinnati by Mayor Mark Mallory and confirmed by the City Council. He assumed his duties in August 2006 as the Chief Executive Officer for the city government, overseeing a staff of more than 5,000 employees and a combined budget of $1 billion. Since coming to Cincinnati, Dohoney established a number of new initiatives to help increase jobs, invest in the city’s neighborhoods, keep the community safe and provide excellent city service. The Neighborhood Enhancement Program, begun in 2007, is a partnership between the community and city agencies that addresses neighborhood issues of blight and crime in a 90-day “jumpstart” period. Under Dohoney’s leadership, the program expanded in its second year to include more than 30 community partners, a volunteer component and support by a major national bank that allows people to contribute financial support to the program through their branches. In May 2008, this program was nationally recognized when it received a Neighborhoods USA Best Neighborhood Program, Physical Revitalization Award. The NEP was also locally recognized in June 2008, when it received the Community Development Corporations Association of Greater Cincinnati’s 2008 Most Outstanding Collaborative Effort Award. Dohoney established the Citizens Government Academy as a way to engage people and inform them about their government. This interactive ten-week course provides an inside look at the operations of City departments and the many services they deliver on a daily basis. During his first year in Cincinnati, Dohoney also oversaw the re-establishment of both the Office of Environmental Quality, and Department of Planning. Dohoney has over 25 years of experience in local government, spending most of his career in Louisville, Kentucky where he grew up. Additionally, he served as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government for three years before becoming City Manager of the City of Cincinnati. He is recognized as the founder of the Regional Neighborhood Network. The RNN is an organization comprised of 18 cities in five states which partner community based organizations with local government to improve conditions in neighborhoods. Dohoney has received numerous recognitions for his civic contributions, including the Prince Hall Humanitarian Award, the Indiana University Southeast Distinguished Alumni Award, Distinguished Catholic School Alumni Award (Louisville), Black Achiever’s Award, and the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau Partnership Award. He has been a full-time and part-time faculty member at three universities and worked in labor relations in the private sector. He is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), which awarded him the Credentialed Manager designation for his significant experience as a senior management executive in local government and demonstrated commitment to high standards of integrity, lifelong learning and professional development. Dohoney has published in the magazine Public Management, and writes a monthly column on Cincinnati in The Pulse newspaper. He holds degrees from the University of Louisville and Indiana University Southeast. ________________________________________ Craig Malin, City Administrator Davenport, Iowa Craig Malin was appointed Davenport City Administrator in July, 2001. He has since served four Mayors and eight (two year term) City Councils, doubling the prior record for tenure in the position. Mr. Malin has a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and holds three Masters Degrees; Public Administration, Human Resources Development and Urban Planning & Policy. He is a graduate of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative and Senior Executive in State & Local Government program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is presently enrolled as an on-line student in Johns Hopkins University’s Communications Masters degree program. Mr. Malin had experience with eight local governments prior to Davenport, including three municipalities, two counties, a park district and a regional planning commission. He was also a founder and charter author of Prairie Crossing Charter School, a national award winning public elementary charter school with a curriculum centered on environmental stewardship and responsible citizenship. He is a member of the International City / County Management Association (ICMA), has attained the ICMA Credentialed Manager designation and has served on numerous national committees and task forces, including rewriting the credentialing exam for the profession. Mr. Malin is the ICMA’s representative to the National League of Cities’ Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Committee. He is also a member of the American Planning Association; holding the American Institute of Certified Planners credential. Mr. Malin’s record of professional recognition at the national level includes being the only ICMA member selected as the profession’s leading practitioner on three separate occasions, as “Assistant Manager of the Year”, “County Leader of the Year” and “Outstanding Manager of the Year”. To date, nine local government professionals who have worked under his direction have gone on to be appointed CAOs of regional or local governments. His tenure in Davenport has coincided with a 60% decrease in crime and over two billion dollars of tax base growth, with significant infrastructure investment, improved operations and targeted efforts to revitalize the riverfront, downtown and neighborhoods. Davenport was recognized as America’s Most Livable Small City in 2007, outperformed all other Iowa cities in the historic 2008 floods, became the first city in the nation with accredited police, fire, public works, parks and library departments in 2011 and was recognized as a Top 10 Digital City in 2013. Mr. Malin resides in Davenport with his wife. They have a son in high school and a daughter at college. ________________________________________ Mark McDaniel, City Manager Tyler, Texas Age 53, has more than 27 years of experience in local government management with service to five Texas cities. Mark officially assumed the duties of Tyler City manager on Jan. 1, 2009. Mark served as deputy City manager and City manager designate for Tyler from 2004 until his appointment as City manager. Prior to arriving in Tyler, Mark served as assistant City manager for the City of Corpus Christi, where he was responsible for administrative and financial services, and served in a dual capacity as the City’s economic development director. Mark has also held the positions of City manager for the City of Woodway, assistant City manager for the City of Lake Jackson, and budget director for the City of Denton. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas, and has completed the Senior Executive in Local Government Program at Harvard University. He is a past president of the Texas City Management Association, and in 2007 was selected as the University of North Texas Master of Public Administration alumnus of the year. Mark was named City Administrator of the Year in 2010 by the Texas City Management Association. He also teaches as an adjunct faculty member for UT Tyler’s public administration graduate school program and is on the advisory board for the Tyler Junior College public administration program. Most recently, Mark was elected by his peers to serve as Vice President for the International City-County Management Association, representing the Mountain-Plains Region (Central United States). Mark is active in the community as an officer and a member of many local business, civic and non-profit organizations. Mark and his wife, Cindy, have been married 27 years and have three children – a daughter who is a school teacher in Fort Worth I.S.D., a son in his senior year at the United States Naval Academy, and a son who is a Junior at Texas A&M. ________________________________________ Joyce Wilson, City Manager El Paso, Texas Ms. Wilson was appointed El Paso’s first city manager in 2004 subsequent to a city charter amendment establishing a council/manager form of government. She has been the City’s only city manager. Joyce Wilson is a nationally recognized leader with over 25 years of extensive local government management experience at senior management and executive levels. Her experience includes working in demographically diverse areas and bi-national settings including Virginia and Arizona, before El Paso. Specific areas of expertise include exemplary fiscal management and high-performance, customer-focused service delivery, community capacity building, internal and external communications, economic development and community revitalization. She also has demonstrated oversight of significant infrastructure investments in rapid growth communities, as well as those experiencing substantial economic decline. She has a B.S. in Business and Economics from Virginia Commonwealth University and a MPA from Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government. She is a fellow with the Kellogg Foundation’s national fellowship program and active in various community organizations, with a focus on youth and families in crisis. She also is an avid supporter and promoter of the arts and cultural sectors.