The search for Gig Harbor’s new city administrator is almost over. Meet the finalists
The search for Gig Harbor’s new city administrator is down to two candidates.
Jeff Niten and Linda Kelly will attend a public meet-and-greet 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 3, at the Gig Harbor Civic Center, 3510 Grandview Street, the city said in a news release.
“We are confident we have two amazing candidates that would serve Gig Harbor well, and we look forward to welcoming the public to meet both Jeff and Linda,” Mayor Tracie Markley said in a news release. “Choosing the right City Administrator is a crucial role for the City of Gig Harbor, with an impact for years, perhaps even decades, to come. We welcome our citizens to share their opinions and insight on who they feel will best suit the City, which we’ll collect through a written comment box at Thursday evening’s event.”
They will have their final interviews with city staff and department heads March 4.
Niten has been Shelton’s city manager for several years. He’s also worked on land-use planning, economic development and project management for local governments in Nevada, Oregon and Washington, the news release said. He has a executive master of public administration degree from the University of South Dakota and a bachelor’s degree related to public policy from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Kelly lives in Seabeck. She’s been the town manager of Windsor, California, which has a population of 27,000. She led a staff of 100. She’s worked in local government for more than 27 years, the release said. She’s a certified municipal clerk, was a tourism ambassador with Sonoma County Tourism, got the 2011 ICMA Community Partnership Award for smaller jurisdictions and was a “credentialed manager” with the International City-County Management Association. She has a master of arts in political science from U.C. Riverside and a certificate in human resources management from the U.C. Santa Cruz Extension.
“During her career, Linda has managed agencies during various economic cycles, natural disasters, regionalization of services, and recently managed a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in Central Washington,” the release said.
Interim city administrator Tony Piasecki was clear that he did not want the job permanently, The Gateway reported. Administrator Bob Larson retired in July, and Piasecki, who held the job previously, returned.
“Tony has just been invaluable to the city, and I know he wants to make sure we secure the right person before he retires,” Markley told The Gateway a couple months ago. “That interview process is going to be my first priority.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
