Council will address selection of city manager

Friday, June 28, 2002 | 9:52 a.m.

Several Las Vegas City Council members are expected to start the process of finding the best candidate to serve as the city manager next week.

During Wednesday's council meeting, the members are expected to discuss how to proceed with the selection of a new city manager, following last week's release of the list of interested candidates.

Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday that he plans to appoint three council members to serve as a committee to narrow the list of 15 down to "three or four." After the list is whittled down, Goodman said he would ask the top candidates to come back to the council in a public setting for a presentation.

Deputy City Managers Doug Selby and Betsy Fretwell, and the city manager of Boulder City, were the lone candidates who applied with government experience. The remainder were from the private sector, including E. Louis Overstreet, executive director of the Urban Chamber of Commerce, and Michael Ducamp, former executive vice president of hotel operations for the Las Vegas Hilton.

The city set out on a statewide search after Virginia Valentine announced her resignation effective May 1. Selby was appointed by the council to serve as acting city manager.

During his weekly press conference Thursday, Goodman said that he was not disappointed that no officials from neighboring governments applied for the post.

"They're happy, they buy into their cities," Goodman said. "They're what I hope our city manager will be."