20 applicants from around the nation seek to become Longview's next city manager

Acting City ManagerJim Duscha declines to apply, saying he wants to enjoy a retirement that was interrupted since he stepped in to help run the city in March

Twenty applicants from 11 states — some of them described as “really good people” — are seeking appointment as Longview’s permanent city manager.

Acting City Manager Jim Duscha is not among the applicants.

Through city spokeswoman Angela Abel, Duscha said Tuesday: "He believes the city and city council need someone who can commit to a five- to 10-year tenure, while he wishes to enjoy his actual retirement.”

Duscha, who retired in 2020 as the city’s police chief, came out of retirement to fill in when the City Council in March fired City Manager Kris Swanson without cause and asked Duscha to step in.

The actions set off a firestorm in city government, led to an exodus of several top administrators and an ongoing citizens lawsuit alleging that the council majority violated the state Open Public Meetings Act.

For months, the council put off a process to search for a new permanent city manager, fueling concerns that the council — especially Councilwoman Kalei LaFave, an ally of Duscha — wanted the former chief to take the job permanently without conducting a search.

In late September the council finally hired Colin Baenziger & Associates of Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, to conduct a search. The application period opened November 1 and closed Friday.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Colin Baenziger said the pool of 20 applicants includes nine people from Washington and two from Oregon. There are candidates from four states east of the Mississippi River. There are two women applicants and at least one minority candidate, he said.

The size of the pool is about average for Washington, said Baenziger, whose firm has helped find city managers for Tacoma, Bellevue, Yakima, Fircrest and other Evergreen State municipalities.

He noted, however, that “there are some really good people in this field” of applicants for the Longview position.

Some council members had expressed concern that the conflicts over the Swanson firing would suppress the applicant pool. Baenziger said he couldn’t say whether the conflict limited or enhanced interest in the Longview job.

“Some people get scared off and some people like a real challenge. What happens sometimes is that cities that have some issues (with conflict) draw people who would not go any other place. You never know. But a good city manager will generally fix any dysfunction on a city council.”

Baenziger knows some of the applicants for the Longview position, but that does not bias him in their favor, he said.

“We look at (candidates’) experience and what they have done. Longevity is one of the factors. I am convinced that most managers don’t want to move and only do so when they are forced to, or they are (short-termers) interested in moving up the ladder. I don’t want either of them,” he said.

Baenziger will now review the applicants and conduct background checks. The firm will present a culled list of candidates to the council on December 31. Before that, on December 12, the council will set direction for the candidate interview process.

In the new year, the council will meet in executive session —now scheduled for January 9 — to review Baenziger’s recommendations and decide which candidates to bring to Longview for interviews. Those are now scheduled to take place on January 16-17, said city spokeswoman Angela Abel. The extent of public involvement will be decided at the December 12 council meeting, she said.

Background checks and a hiring decisions will take place in the February/March time frame. There’s no absolute guarantee the council will pick a new manager from this pool. Centralia’s City Council, for example, rejected all candidates for its city manager post this past summer before hiring Michael Thomas, of Hillsboro, Oregon, in October after a second round of searching.

Longview is paying Baenziger & Associates $34,500 to conduct the search process.

Unless one of the applicants already works for the city and gets the job, this hire will mark only the second time that Longview has looked beyond its own ranks to hire a city manager. The first was when it hired Ed Ivey, who led the city from 1987 to 2005.

In his statement, Duscha said he is thankful for the opportunity to serve the city one more time. He said he is proud of “bringing a sense of calm” to city staff and successfully drafting the 2025-2026 budget, which the council adopted last week. (The City Council hired a consultant to help Duscha prepare the budget after firing Swanson, who also served as finance director. )

Duscha made $177,000 annually as interim manager. It was clear, especially from the wildly differing grades that council members gave Duscha in his annual evaluation, that his ongoing presence would continue to be a source tension on the council.

The city manager is the city’s top administrative official. All city staff are answerable to him/her, while the position is under the direction and scrutiny of the council.

Longview has had a city manager form of government since 1968, when it switched from a strong mayor form.