Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LV city manager candidates address council

All five candidates for Las Vegas city manager say they support consolidation of the city with unincorporated parts of Clark County, and that they would work with the City Council to make headway on the issue if hired.

Their views on consolidation are important in making a decision on who should be hired, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said.

Goodman has been pitching consolidation since he was elected, and said the next city manager should also support the concept.

"It's very important to me," said Goodman, who after hearing the five presentations Wednesday said he had decided who should become the next city manager. He would not disclose his choice, though, saying he would wait until the council votes Aug. 21.

Wednesday's presentations featured five candidates with a range of backgrounds, gender, race and experience. They shared common themes of strategic planning and team building.

The candidates were culled from a list of 15 who applied for the position after Virginia Valentine announced her resignation effective May 31.

Goodman said the five finalists -- including Las Vegas Deputy City Managers Betsy Fretwell and Doug Selby -- were all strong candidates.

"It's going to be tough," Goodman said. "We're pretty lucky to have the kind of candidates that appeared in front of us today. It's a no-lose situation as far as the city is concerned."

John Sullard, city manager of Boulder City, has worn political and administrative hats during his decades of work with government and the private sector. Sullard has run political campaigns and was a city councilman and mayor in California. He has also been a city planner and chairman of a redevelopment agency.

Sullard said his leadership style is "team participation." To implement the vision and policies of the mayor and City Council, Sullard said he would establish a detailed strategic plan that would outline the "hopes and dreams of residents in Las Vegas." This would include objectives, time frames, and budget guidelines, he said.

"I know the importance of making tough decisions," Sullard said. "That happens every day in the city manager's life and I know what it's like to work with unique personalities in order to accomplish what's best for the city."

Sullard has worked with Nevada's senators in discussing federal legislation for a Boulder City bypass and said he is also involved with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Jose "Pepe" Charles has spent most of his professional career in the private sector, taking positions that were challenging and often "outside his comfort zone," he said.

Charles spent several years living abroad, and said he has helped rebuild struggling companies.

In those positions, Charles said he was in situations where he was not the expert, so he had to learn quickly. He said he places an emphasis on teamwork, which would help the council accomplish its priorities.

Charles said he has no legislative experience, but has experience with labor contracts.

Selby said the chosen candidate should see that the council has a stake in the day-to-day operations of the city.

Selby, who has been with the city for three years, said the city manager should not be the only one making policy, but that it should be a collaboration between that person and the council.

He said the manager must also lead by example, by reinforcing ideas and rewarding employees.

Selby said in his career as an executive, including 10 years with the Las Vegas Valley Water District, he had the opportunity to plan, design and oversee construction of billion-dollar projects. He also testified before the Legislature on several occasions on issues related to the water district.

"I believe I have honed and developed the skills necessary to do the job," Selby said.

Fretwell said she knows firsthand the challenges associated with exploring consolidation. As a member of Clark County's staff in 1992, she was assigned to work on a city-county study to explore the topic.

"Oftentimes there are misunderstandings about what consolidation is," she said. "You don't necessarily just mean incorporating the Strip or taking parts of unincorporated Clark County. It's a lot more complex."

Fretwell has extensive legislative experience through her work with the county, city, and Henderson for the last decade. She was a lobbyist during four legislative sessions, at three of which she was a full-time lobbyist.

Like Selby, Fretwell said the council members need to be more involved in achieving the city's goals. Fretwell said she would build upon the council's existing priorities and business plans and put a council member in charge of each one of those priorities.

E. Louis Overstreet, executive director of the Urban Chamber of Commerce, said he is a unique candidate because of his record of volunteer service. Through his two decades of work with the private sector, Overstreet said he has experience in strategic planning and collective bargaining.

As an engineer, Overstreet said he was trained to be innovative.

"If you are truly looking for someone who possesses the integrity and possesses the ability to create teams and serve in the best interest of public, I am uniquely qualified," he said.

Overstreet said he was also in support of consolidation because it will save taxpayer dollars.

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