MUSKEGON, Mich. — Six people have been named as candidates for city manager in Muskegon.
Former City Manager Frank Peterson resigned this past April to pursue another opportunity in the private sector, and now the community will be able to get to know these candidates and ask them questions.
"This is probably the most important decision that the city commission makes," Mayor Ken Johnson says.
The city commission is getting ready to interview the candidates at the end of the week.
"It's a nice mix of folks with different perspectives and different experiences," Johnson says.
Two of the candidates are currently here in West Michigan. LeighAnn Mikesell is the interim city manager right now, working with the city in various roles for the past five years. She also worked for MDOT for 15 years.
Jonathan Seyferth has been the Township Manager in Gaines Township since 2021 and worked in Coopersville for six years, three of which were as city manager. He served on Muskegon Area First, and he also was the Executive Director of Downtown Muskegon Now for a combined total of four years.
"I think all but one of them have a connection to Michigan, either family here or worked here at some point and went elsewhere," Johnson says.
There are four candidates from out of state.
Dennis Durham last worked in Windsor, Iowa. He has worked in West Michigan before as city manager in Parchment, deputy city manager and assistant city manager in Kalamazoo and assistant city manager in Portage.
Joe Neeb has been the city manager in Rosewell, New Mexico for the past five years, previously working for cities in South Dakota and Indiana.
Jerry Gabrielatos is currently city manager in West Linn, Oregon. He also worked as an assistant city manager in Minnesota and various roles within the City of Chicago.
Gerald Smith has worked as city manager in Creedmor, North Carolina for the last year, and he has worked in cities in Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.
"We hired at Michigan Municipal League to conduct an executive search that was done nationwide, and they brought us a number of candidates," Johnson says.
The Muskegon City Commission reviewed 16 candidates forwarded to them by the Michigan Municipal League, and the chosen six will be interviewed this Friday.
Johnson says they could make a decision by the end of that day.
"Otherwise, we may decide to postpone that a bit, take the weekend or into next week to further reflect on it and give more time to receive feedback and input from our community," he says.
This Thursday at 11:30 a.m., the community is invited to get tickets for a free cruise to meet and greet the candidates. There will also be an event at city hall that night from 6 to 8 p.m. to get to know the candidates.
The community is also invited to the interviews at city hall on Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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