The Yakima City Council has added a fourth finalist to the pool of Yakima city manager candidates that will undergo interviews today and tomorrow. Dave Zabell, who served as assistant city manager in Yakima from 2005 to 2011, was added to the group of finalists after Thomas Hutka withdrew from the process yesterday.
The four finalists will be interviewed today by a panel of community members and a panel of senior City staff members. The finalists will be interviewed by the full City Council on Wednesday, July 8th.
The finalist pool includes Zabell, who is currently the city manager in Pasco, current City of Paso Robles, California Public Works Director Dick McKinley, Robert Harrison, who most recently served as the chief administrative officer for the City of Renton, and current City of Yakima Interim City Manager Alex Meyerhoff.
Finalist interviews will be conducted via teleconference today by a panel of seven community members and a panel of seven senior City staff members, both of which were chosen by the City Council. Today’s finalist interviews will begin at 10:00 am and last about an hour a piece.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, July 8th), the finalists will be interviewed individually via teleconference by the City Council during a special meeting that will begin at 9:00 am in the Council Chambers at Yakima City Hall. The special meeting will be aired live on Y-PAC, Charter Cable channel 194, and live streamed on the City’s website (www.yakimawa.gov).
Zabell has been Pasco’s city manager since 2014. Before that, he served as city manager in Fife (2011-2014), assistant city manager in Yakima (2005-2011), public works director in Bothell, and city administrator in Marysville (1993-2000). Before joining the City of Paso Robles as public works director in 2015, McKinley served in the same role in Surprise, Arizona (2013-2014), Tacoma (2009-2013), Bellingham (2001-2009), and Walla Walla (1994-2001). Harrison was Renton’s chief administrative officer from 2018 until May of this year. Before that, he was the city administrator in Issaquah (2010-2018), city manager in Wyoming, Ohio, city administrator/clerk/treasurer in Mosinee, Wisconsin (1996-1998), and assistant to the city administrator in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (1995-1996). Meyerhoff was hired as Yakima’s interim city manager in October 2019. He served as city manager/executive director for the City of San Fernando, California (2017-2019), city manager/executive director for the City of Hemet, California (2016-2017), city manager/executive director for the City of Holtville, California (2011-2014), and director of planning and economic development for a private architectural firm in Palm Springs, California (2008-2011).
In April of this year, the City Council approved a competitive process to find a replacement for Cliff Moore, who served as Yakima city manager from July 2016 through August 2019. From a total of 39 applicants, the City’s Human Resources staff presented the Council with a pool of 13 semi-finalists. During a June 22nd special meeting, the City Council reviewed the semi-finalist pool and selected the finalists.