Longview council’s search for permanent city manager stalls

For the second meeting in a row, the Longview City Council extensively debated when to start searching for a permanent city manager. And for the second meeting in a row, the council couldn’t make a decision.

The council voted down a motion to immediately begin searching for recruitment firms to lead the hiring process at Thursday night’s meeting, along with every amendment and permutation of the search timeline. The lack of decision leaves Jim Duscha as the interim city manager, with no timeline to either hire him permanently or replace him.

Thursday’s debate was made up of a flurry of amendments. The three councilmembers who had opposed Duscha’s appointment in March — MaryAlice Wallis, Ruth Kendall and Angie Wean — pushed to start the search quickly, possibly including firing Duscha that night and relying on a part-time city manager from an outside firm. Wallis said a part-time city manager would be the most cost-effective option.

At the other end, the three newest councilmembers — Erik Halvorson, Keith Young and Kalei LaFave — proposed delaying any step of a hiring search until between January and April of 2025. Young, who proposed the delay until April, argued that Duscha should stay in place for the entirety of this year’s budgeting process and worried that the instability that started with their vote to remove former manager Kris Swanson would scare away prospects.

“I believe we are not ready to accept a new professional into this environment. I think our current climate, politically, is affecting our search,” Young said.

Mayor Spencer Boudreau acted as the swing vote against both extremes of the timeline. As the discussion approached the two-hour mark, he seemingly grew frustrated at the knot of amendments. Boudreau indicated at one point that he would support beginning the search in around six months, but no successful amendment was proposed on that timeline.

The hiring search for a permanent city manager would likely take at least six months, including the time to select a firm to lead the search. Multiple firms have contacted Longview’s Human Resources department with cost estimates for the search.

A majority of the public comments during the extended debate leaned toward a fast search. Several people hoped that starting a collaborative search would help the two wings of the council come together.

“You have an interim because you are actively searching for the permanent position,” Longview resident Pat Richards said. “I think it would behoove all of you, and bring you together, and show you have your hearts in the right place.”