Ypsilanti City Clerk Frances McMullen withdraws as city manager candidate
Ypsilanti City Clerk Frances McMullen withdrew Friday as a candidate for the city manager position, Mayor Paul Schreiber said.
The move wasn't expected by city officials, they said.
“I was surprised,” Schreiber said. “My understanding is when she was contacted to set up the interview time, she said she was withdrawing. I have not received anything other than the schedule say she withdrew.”
Schreiber said he was not given a reason. McMullen could not be reached for comment.
City Council had picked McMullen on Thursday night during its budget meeting as one of three candidates for city manager.
While he believes McMullen has done a good job as city clerk and interim city manager, Schreiber believes the city needs someone with a wealth of experience to help tackle the city’s looming budget issues.
“I can see her taking on a greater role in the city than city clerk,” Schreiber said. “It’s just I think that we do need someone with experience and some battle scars to step in the position and help us navigate.”
The remaining candidates, former Grosse Pointe Shores City Manager Brian Vick and Ralph Lange, executive director of the Henry County (Ohio) Improvement Corp., are strong choices, Schreiber said.
“I think we have a couple of high quality candidates to choose from and they both have experience and I think we can move ahead after these two interviews,” he said. “Like I said the other night, I was actually ready to make a decision then.”
Critics have scrutinized both Lange and Vick in terms of experience, but Schreiber said the reality is there is no such thing as a perfect candidate.
“When you go through the hiring process, there are always parts of candidates you really like, and you wish you could take all of those parts and put them together to create the perfect candidate, but the perfect candidate doesn’t exist,” he said.
Schreiber said City Council has an important decision to make that will affect all facets of the city.
The city manager will be responsible for running the day to day operations of the city along with providing ideas and suggestions to the council.
“The fact that we’re getting a new city manager is going to change the government in Ypsilanti one way or another, so I think its an opportunity especially for some people that think we need some change,” Schreiber said. “Some people that voted no I’m sure would like to see some change. Well, change is happening right now.”
Using former City Manager Ed Koryzno as an example, Screiber said the decision could impact the city for years to come.
“As a matter of fact, I think it is the most important decision because [the city manger job] can easily outlive a city council [position],” he said. “Koryzno was here for 15 1/2 years. I don’t know if our pick will be here for 15 1/2 years but Ed Koryzno had a lot of influence over what happened in the city of Ypsilanti so this is a huge decision.”
The second round of interviews will take place May 14 in City Hall, with Lange being interviewed at 7 p.m. and Vick at 8 p.m.
Comments
cheef16
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 4:54 p.m.
I'm disappointed in the reporting on this manager search. The article explicitly states that there have been questions about the remaining two candidates' experience but no substantiation of the claim is given. What exactly is being questioned? Is it the quality of the experience? Is work experience being misrepresented by a candidate? Is the question about the actual experience requirement that council imposed on the search? We are left to wonder about the experience issue by the article. Is there a link to a past article addressing the experience issue?
YpsilantiLoyalOne
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 6:52 p.m.
Some people see only what they want to see!
deepthroat
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:36 p.m.
YpsiVeteran: You can ready these articles, and you don't think anything is a bit shady? http://www.candgnews.com/news/shores-officials-dispute-misconduct-allegations-regarding-tolling-agreement http://www.grossepointenews.com/Articles-News-i-2012-01-12-245858.114135-How-much-is-GPYC-owed.html http://www.grossepointenews.com/Articles-News-i-2012-03-01-246306.114135-Vick-out-in-Shores.html Hiding a $500K to $1 mill range deficit from the entire city council and the residents with a secrecy agreement not voted on by elected officials certainly does not look like transparency. Especially when this occurred right before a key city election. And to say Vick's problems were due to a "hostile new council" misses a critical point. Is not a city manager is hired to carry out the will of all our elected officials on the council, not to make policy unilaterally, or engage in secret legal deals on their own, or to serve as the political hatchet man for the mayor?
YpsiVeteran
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:18 p.m.
The articles I read about Vick's tenure in GPS seem to suggest that he did a good job, and left when faced with a hostile new council. There wasn't any indication he did anything shady.
Ypsidoodle
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 10:49 p.m.
Here is an article that gives a little more background on the candidates... as well, in the comments section, someone posted links to articles on Mr. Vick's potentially damaging activities while at Grosse Pointe Shores: http://www.annarbor.com/news/ypsilanti/ypsilanti-city-council-considering-five-candidates-for-vacant-city-manager-position/
ahi
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 7:31 p.m.
annarbor.com's coverage of the manager search has been abysmal. I don't think we have gotten more than one line bios.
neighbor
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 1:39 p.m.
I reiterate the fact that this council is making a grave mistake with their final two choices. Vick should clearly be tossed with the information available by following the links and suggestions in these discussion threads. Just because Lange has experience with large budgets doesn't mean he understands the workings of a city. It seemed clear that Ottenwess was the best choice for the position given his experiences. Ypsidoodle's suggestion of having an HR person provide input is extremely valuable. Deepthroat's points are spot on. This council is damning our future with their obvious lack of investigation and inability to translate worthwhile experience. No vision, no youth, no future...guess it will probably rely on outside regulators to clean up and clean house.
YpsilantiLoyalOne
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 6:54 p.m.
Why do some people feel they are reliable and others are not?
YpsiVeteran
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 3:16 p.m.
Sure, because newspaper articles and anonymous blog posts are a completely reliable source of information.
Ypsidoodle
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 3:15 p.m.
Many of us believe what you have stated. Many believe the process should be restarted with a more focused plan for this next city manager, especially since the vote is over. In my opinion, the choice for a competent, reliable, energetic candidate should not be relegated to the council's whims... the process needs to be fortified, made more robust in order to better serve the needs of the community. We can't wait until the next council elections for this to take place, by no means, and I'm sure McMullen is chomping at the bit to be replaced, but at some point, the process has to be logical, sane and focused toward better this community.
xmo
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 12:56 p.m.
Maybe the voters of Ypsi need to vote Republican next election, Voting for Democrats got them into this mess!
Stephen
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 12:51 a.m.
We already have republicans lying and running as democrats. That's as much of the red BS as we need in our city.
Steve Hendel
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 12:09 p.m.
Go Frances!
ahi
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 2:37 a.m.
My guess is that McMullen just figured out she wasn't likely to be chosen. Why push the issue when you will have to work with the council and the person they do pick in the future? Less awkward for everyone to withdraw. From everything I have read, it seems we are lucky to have her on staff.
Ypsidoodle
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 12:54 p.m.
Though as a boss myself, I expect my subordinates to be vying for my position... keeps them sharp, keeps me sharp.
greg, too
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 4:38 a.m.
It also gives her time to entrench herself more in her position before her new boss is hired. No boss likes to work with someone who wanted their job. Good move on her part.
deepthroat
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 9:39 p.m.
Ypsidoodle: My guess is that if Ypsi city officials do their due diligence, and take the time to speak to the current Grosse Pointe Shores mayor and council members, and then do a little on line research and read the Grosse Pointe papers and Pointe web sites about the turbulence during Vick's brief tenure, they should reach the conclusion that things go far beyond Mr. Vick making a secrecy deal without council knowledge with a private club that is threatening to sue because of hundreds of thousands of dollars of water bill overcharges. Of course when any civic employee acts on his own in such a brazen fashion and does not bring the whole council into the loop on such a major issue, that speaks volumes on both what that individual really thinks about transparency in government, and what kind of team player they are. Ypsi officials should also be curious why the city of Grosse Pointe passed Vick over for the city manager position when he was the long time assistant manager there as well. Caveat Emptor!
Ypsidoodle
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 10:50 p.m.
Ypsilanti all ready has tarnished enough reputation, it doesn't need further distractions as far as I'm concerned... whether or not Mr. Vick is capable, the fact of the matter is he was embroiled in controversy, the facts of which are still unclear to me. We need someone who is both capable and has a solid reputation. I'm not sure if Lange is the answer either. Go to the Henry County CIC website and decide for yourself. I can't make heads or tails of that one. Where are the 909 filings for past years?
Ypsidoodle
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 9:28 p.m.
Other than McMullen, how many other City of Ypsilanti employees or residents were considered for this position?
dading dont delete me bro
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 8:05 p.m.
maybe she sees the train wreck up ahead?!?
YpsilantiLoyalOne
Mon, May 14, 2012 : 2:54 a.m.
Ed Koryzno and April McGrath knew the train was wrecking too that's why they got out. Mr. Koryzno didn't come up with revenue generating ideas in all his years and was nothing more than mediocre. He did well while the economy was well and anyone can do that. I would have liked to see him get us out of this. From what I know, he did nothing with Water Street. He should have felt guilty leaving before he corrected what was done under his leadership. Now we the community are left holding the bag. How can he help in Lansing when he couldn't help in Ypsilanti. Maybe he can convince Lansing not to send a EFM.
Ypsidoodle
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 8:48 p.m.
I don't blame her one bit for withdrawing...
YpsilantiLoyalOne
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 8:34 p.m.
I would not doubt that Ms. McMullan sees the train wreck coming and probably doesn't want the blood of the city on her hands. She has done a good job with what she has to work with. Most of the staff loves her and I've heard only good things about her performance. She is a future leader indeed! I am impressed with how she learned a lot so quickly and stepped up to the plate fearlessly. Hope she stays around! Her attitude and work ethic is exceptional!
Ypsidoodle
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 7:46 p.m.
So Vick got run out of Grosse Pointe Shores for a potentially damaging and illegal deal with the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club (the city attorney mysteriously disappeared too) and Lange is the director of a supposed non-profit economic development entity in Ohio, a group that no one's sure what they really do... what's plan B here? I hope we haven't stopped looking yet, if so, that would be a shame...
Ypsidoodle
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 8:47 p.m.
I'm not sure council should be doing the hiring anyway... an HR person should be doing this then making recommendations to the council as to the best fit.
YpsilantiLoyalOne
Sat, May 12, 2012 : 8:27 p.m.
Council is in a hurry because they don't have a clue of what to do! This is really a shame and I bet the city will be looking for another manager within 2 years. Vick is looking for the next best thing and Lange will probably retire. So much for stability. Oh well, an EFM can come on in!