Mayor Don Ness has begun the search for a new chief administrative officer who will share his interest in organization development and focus on the three key items mentioned in his inaugural speech - service, innovation and accountability.
A sixteen-member citizens' advisory group chaired by Pat Mullen of Allete/Minnesota Power has been formed to lead the search. This group is responsible for submitting a list of finalists to Mayor Ness for selection inside the first 100 days of his term in office.
"This is obviously a key priority for my administration and also for the City of Duluth," Mayor Ness said. "I have every confidence that Pat and his group will do a tremendous job for the city and its citizens."
The group includes members from business, non-profits and other walks of life and is diverse in other ways as well.
"The process will be community led," Mullen said. "We are putting together an effective process which will involve leaders from all over Duluth and will take a wide range of stakeholder opinion into account. Our goal is to give Mayor Ness the best input we can give him and give him a pool of qualified candidates from which to choose."
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The group is an offshoot of a smaller, core team which met during the transition period prior to Mayor Ness taking office.
"They do have some background but now the real work begins," the mayor added. "Getting this job done in the first 100 days is a key priority of mine and I know the group members are excited about getting started."
The list of top candidates will then be interviewed by stakeholders and members of the focus group, working with the city's human resources office, according to Mullen.
--City of Duluth press release
