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Initial review of Moses Lake city manager candidates underway

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | November 18, 2024 2:35 AM

MOSES LAKE — Consultants hired to assist with the search for a new Moses Lake city manager are conducting an initial review of candidates.  

Lynne Lynch, city public information officer, said the job had attracted 13 applications as of Oct. 27.  

The new city manager will replace Interim City Manager Mike Jackson, who was hired in July. Jackson previously was an interim city manager in Sheridan, Wyo., and was in city administration and management in Spokane Valley and Chelan.  

Jackson replaced former City Manager Kevin Fuhr, who resigned from the job in June due to health reasons. Fuhr was the Moses Lake Police Department chief prior to taking the city manager’s job. 

Whomever the city chooses to take on the city manager role will be the fifth person in the position since 2019.  

Prior to Fuhr, Allison Williams served as city manager in Moses Lake, but left the position in May 2023, after which Fuhr was appointed to the position on an interim basis before being offered the role permanently. Williams was hired in 2020 after former City Manager John Williams, no relation, resigned in mid-2019 following accusations of misconduct by himself and former Deputy City Manager Gilbert Alvarado, who also resigned at the time.  

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