Mayor Joe McComb gave an update on the search for a new City Manager Friday morning at City Hall.
No finalists have been selected and the list still remains at six candidates.
Along with that update, McComb continued to defend the selection process. He stood by his statement that the search performed by Slavin Management Consultants needs to be done right, as opposed to fast.
The City of Corpus Christi paid $34,397 to hire the search firm. The contract between the city and the firm states that if the person chosen is determined not to be a good fit within the first year, Slavin Management Consultants will perform another search at no additional cost.
“They’re a good, reputable company, and I make no apologies whatsoever for that, nor the process that we’re following,” McComb said.
After questions from taxpayers and the media, a formerly private list of six candidates was made public last week.
Mayor McComb referenced a seventh applicant who withdrew from consideration.
“We’ll never know whether that was the best candidate America had to offer or not, because somebody wanted to know their name,” McComb said. “Well, this isn’t Cheers Bar where everybody knows your name.”
As KRIS 6 news has reported, questions have been raised about the credentials and backgrounds of some of those candidates.
“If you’ve got time, make me a list of all the NFL coaches that have never been fired, or the college coaches that have never been fired,” McComb said. “Or in your own existence, have you ever been fired or terminated?”
McComb said council members and the search firm will determine why some of those candidates were fired through the vetting process.
Representatives from Slavin Management Consultants will be in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, March 26. From there, it is expected that the list of candidates will be narrowed down to two or three finalists.
The public will have an opportunity to meet the candidates and voice their thoughts at a later date.
“All of you have our email addresses. After you’ve met somebody, you send us an email and say, ‘Well I think that person was wonderful. Looks like they’d do a good job,’ or ‘I think that person’s an idiot. We don’t want them down here,'” McComb said.
You can find more information about the six candidates and their past experiences here: https://kristv.com/news/2019/03/06/meet-the-finalists-corpus-christi-city-manager-job-slavin-management-consultants/
