City manager candidate may have been looking for job in Camas

A letter of interest for the city manager position on Bainbridge Island from one of the three finalists for the position has raised an intriguing question.

Was the Bainbridge job the next best thing for Bonnie Therrien?

Therrien is one of three finalists for the city manager's job on Bainbridge Island.

Therrien, along with fellow finalists Douglas Schulze and Mark Hoppen, will be interviewed for the vacant position in a closed-door executive session on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

But in the letter of interest she sent to the city on July 13, Therrien may have mistakenly hinted she had earlier looked for another city management job in Washington state.

"This letter and enclosed resume are sent to express my interest in the recently advertised city manager position for Bainbridge Island which was posted on your website," Therrien wrote to Tom Muehlenbeck, the consultant hired by the city to conduct the executive search, in the July 13 letter.

"Because of my highly successful career in public sector management, I enthusiastically look forward to applying my knowledge and skills to being the City Manager of Camas," Therrien wrote.

The city of Camas has been searching for a new city administrator in recent months.

According to the Camas-Washougal Post-Record, the city announced its top five applicants in late June and interviews were held in July.

The Columbian reported on July 18 that Camas Mayor Scott Higgins had rejected the two finalists for the post and decided to keep current City Administrator Lloyd Halverson in place.

According to news reports in Massachusetts, Therrien had also sought employment as the next town manager in Longmeadow, Mass. Contract negotiations were reportedly underway as recently as Aug. 27.

 

Contact Bainbridge Island Review Editor Brian Kelly at editor@bainbridgereview.com or 1-206-842-6613.

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