Sequim sets six candidates for city manager

Published 12:47 pm Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Six finalists for the City of Sequim’s City Manager position come to town on Thursday, June 18, for a meet-and-greet.

The candidates — Charles Bush of Issaquah, John DuRocher of Des Plaines, Ill., Belinda Graham of Riverside, Calif., Kandis Hanson of Mound, Minn., Yvonne Kimball of Dewey-Humboldt, Ariz., and William Kohbarger of North Las Vegas, Nev. — will be available from 5:30-7 p.m. at the new Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St.

On Friday, Sequim City Council members and city staff will interview the candidates to replace retiring City Manager Steve Burkett. His last day is June 30 after serving since October 2009. Burkett said a decision on the hiring may be made on Friday.

Charles Bush

He serves as the development services director for the City of Issaquah, which he’s held since April 2014. Last year, he managed about $250 million in construction in the city.

Prior, he served as deputy city administrator from May 2012-March 2014 where he managed 161 employees and $45 million in operating and $18 million capital budgets.

Bush said he’s interested in Sequim “as a result of the challenges I see represented in the city’s goals and plans, the friendly people I encountered on my visits, Sequim’s beauty and Sequim’s potential.”

“Great things are happening in Sequim and there is the potential for much more,” he said.

Along with his time in Issaquah, Bush spent four years (2008-2012) in Prosser as its city administrator where he created a partnership with the local Boys & Girls Club and with a $3 million aquatic center renovation.

Bush also worked nearly six years for Bellevue splitting his time as the intergovernmental management analyst and later the assistant to the city manager.

He also worked for the Cities of Glendale and Phoenix in Arizona.

Bush holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wittenberg University and a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University.

John DuRocher

He previously was the executive director of the Northwest Water Commission in Des Plaines, Ill., after serving from 2002 until recently. He was its longest tenured director.

There, he oversaw the commission that provided water to 225,000 people, a $10 million budget and helped create a $22 million capital plan for 2015-2016.

Some of his accomplishments, DuRocher states, are that he maintained the lowest water rates for agencies providing Lake Michigan water and he helped create and implement the commission’s first strategic plan and long-term capital plan.

DuRocher said he was drawn to Sequim’s open position as a “combination of it being a small town, council-manager form of government and in the Pacific Northwest.”

DuRocher also served as Wilmington, Ill.’s first city administrator from 2000-2002. He planned and zoned a 2,000-acre area that became a redevelopment area and updated the city’s zoning code. Du

Rocher worked as village administrator for the Village of Montgomery in Illinois from 1989-1999.

He holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Illinois in philosophy and he holds a master of public administration degree from Northern Illinois University in city management and financial operations.

He served in the U.S. Navy as an electronic warfare officer and legal officer, too.

Belinda Graham

She retired in December 2014 with the City of Riverside as its assistant city manager (from March 2009-Dec. 2014). She oversaw a $993 million annual budget and 2,400-plus employees.

Graham and her husband bought property in Brinnon more than 10 years ago, she said, and they moved there recently to find new opportunities in the Olympic Peninsula area.

“I have spent time in Sequim attending many events (Lavender and Irrigation festivals), supported local artists by frequenting the art galleries to make our house a home, and hiked local trails, so when the position of city manager opened I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to apply in a city that offers so much yet is a small town,” Graham said.

As Riverside’s assistant city manager, she oversaw multiple departments and led a team that carried out the city council’s vision to complete 30 years of deferred maintenance and capital improvements in five years called the Riverside Renaissance with a budget at nearly $1 billion.

She also was Riverside’s development director from December 2004-March 2009 where she established a homeless shelter campus and restructured the Festival of Lights celebration. She also worked for the County of Riverside as assistant director of the Economic Development Agency and for the cities of Ontario and Fontana.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in geography and Spanish from California State University and a master of business administration degree from the University of Redlands.

Kandis Hanson

She is the City of Mound’s city manager in Minnesota where she’s served since April 2000.

Hanson oversees an $18 million budget, which includes multiple departments such as the parks department, fire and police departments and a for-profit liquor store. In her tenure, some of her accomplishments include leading a redevelopment of aged community city buildings and developing a streets and utilities replacement program.

She also started a network for neighboring cities’ businesses, churches and civic organizations that led to three new festivals.

Hanson said she was raised in rural Minnesota and was drawn to the agrarian element of Sequim.

“I welcome the small-town atmosphere, the city’s diversity and the natural beauty of the area,” she said. “More importantly, I welcome the challenges of following a very successful manager and taking Sequim to the next level.”

Prior to working in Mound, Hanson served as city clerk from November 1995-April 2000 in the City of Kasson, Minn., and as city administrator in the City of Eyota, Minn., from August 1993-November 1995. She also interned with four other municipalities from 1991-1993.

Hanson holds a bachelor’s of science degree in human environment (housing)/home economics from Mankato State University, and a master of arts degree in local government management from Mankato State University, Urban and Regional Studies Institute.

Yvonne Kimball

She is the town manager for the Town of Dewey-Humboldt, Ariz., where she’s served in that role since January 2012. In her time, some of her accomplishments include obtaining grants for the downtown historical area, creating an employee retention initiative and beginning to research building a town hall and the feasibility of providing water services.

Kimball said living in Washington always has been of interest to her.

“My family and I were very much attracted to the profile of the community — A charming but very functional municipality providing full services which would offer the necessary career advancement and adequate challenge for me professionally,” she said.

“At the same time, it is a family friendly community which offers values and lifestyles that mirror our own.”

From October 2008-Dec.ember 2011, Kimball was the city manager for Bowling Green in Florida where she handled 10 percent budget shortfalls and obtained a $700,000 grant to upgrade citywide water distribution system. She also served as a city manager trainee/intern with the Cities of Satellite Beach, Titusville and Palm Bay in Florida from August 2006-August 2008.

Kimball holds a bachelor’s degree in business English from Tianjin Institute of Technology of China, a master of arts in public administration degree and a graduate certificate in urban and regional planning from the University of Central Florida.

William A. Kohbarger

His last job was serving as deputy director of Human Resources with the City of North Las Vegas, Nev., where different reports said he was laid off after two months for financial crises in 2013.

Previously, he was the longest tenured city manager/town manager in Pahrump, Nev. (June 2008-July 2013), Carlin, Nev. (2000-2008), and Lincoln Heights, Ohio (1997-1999).

Kohbarger said he likes everything Sequim offers including “the challenges facing the community and the new city manager, the community, location and the desire to work for a local government that has an excellent reputation with much potential.”

As town manager in Pahrump, Kohbarger said he improved the town’s ending fund balance by more than $1 million in his tenure despite losing nearly 65 percent of its assessed valuation and 40 percent of its property tax revenue.

He also renovated a park, digitized records and saw reductions of upwards of $1 million in the town’s budget from 2010-2012 that resulted in no layoffs.

In Carlin, he partnered with multiple agencies to construct a 3.8-mile water line extension to the University of Nevada–Reno fire science academy that reopened the facility to maintain 45 jobs.

He also coordinated construction of a senior center and simplified the application process for developers.

Kohbarger holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master of public administration degree from Bowling Green State University. He also served as as an assistant to the safety service director in the City of Fremont, Ohio, and as an agent for the Ohio Department of Public Safety investigative unit.