An ideal city manager is one who manages the city business well and gets along with the city employees, the city council and the mayor. A well run city government is one in which citizens can go about their daily lives without having to pay constant attention to what's happening at city hall. I miss the good old days, but maybe it was just the bliss of ignorance.
So who will be the next Midland, Texas, City Manager? It could be one of the current assistant city managers. They've probably got support from somewhere among the City Council members, but to win over the folks out here in the city it might help if they had a Sister Souljah moment and put some distance between themselves and their mentor, outgoing City Manager, Rick Menchaca.
There are others out there who could probably do the job. Previously I mentioned former Police Chief John Urby. Going from Police Chief to City Manager would take some learning on his part, but he could probably do it.
Newsroom Stew threw Glen Hackler's name into the mix.
Should the city need a new city manager, how about Andrews' Glen Hackler? While you can argue he fell into the perfect situation in Andrews, he deserves a lot of credit in making Andrews relevant. He also appears to make people accountable while still coming across as a nice guy, and that combination could go a long way here in Midland.
Well, here's another. Previous City Manager Mike McGregor is still around. Link is to Jimmy Patterson's article from ten months ago. Alternate link. Excerpt:
McGregor has spent the last five years doing contract city management work for Buda and Longview, and pulling a two-year stint as a financial consultant at Merrill Lynch in Midland. Since April, he has been the district manager of the Llano Estacado Underground Water Conservation District, back in municipal government work again. He offices in the basement of the Gaines County Courthouse in downtown Seminole, 60 miles from his Midland doorstep.
McGregor set a pretty good example of how to leave a job with dignity. And scuttlebutt tells us he's not going to come begging for the job but that he would serve if asked.
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