During a closed session on Monday, Aug. 10, Ann Arbor City Council selected four candidates to interview for Ann Arbor's City Administrator position. The candidates interviewed on Aug. 20 were: Tom Crawford; Joyce Parker; Cara Pavlicek; and Eric Wobser.
As set by prior City Council resolution, a special session was held August 24 to further discuss the city administrator finalists.
Search Process
Community members were invited to submit questions they would like candidates to answer, which were recorded (See links below). In addition, community members signed up to meet candidates via small group Zoom virtual meetings (See links below).
Tom Crawford
Presentation: https://youtu.be/fidoZx_fEn4
Q&A: https://youtu.be/FfhpYsefegU
Cara Pavlicek
Presentation: https://youtu.be/Cd3P5gzEqVM
Q&A: https://youtu.be/59qa1O-4MHY
Eric Wobser
Presentation: https://youtu.be/hXeaBpNosvU
Q&A: https://youtu.be/70lZhk3rBiA
Community members were able to submit feedback about each candidate via an online survey. View the Second Survey Feedback Summary (PDF)
City Council will hold a special session on Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. for the purpose of addressing the next steps in the City Administrator search. View Meeting Details
Final Candidate Chosen
City
Council voted unanimously Sept. 14 to move forward with negotiating a contract
with Tom Crawford for the city administrator position, which he has been
serving in on interim basis since March. View the resolution.
On October 19, 2020, City Council approved a contract with Tom Crawford. View the resolution.
Candidate Information
Tom Crawford is currently the Chief Financial Officer for the City of Ann Arbor, since 2004. He previously worked for Ford Motor Company's lending, product planning, and product development units. Crawford earned a master of business administration degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Cara Pavlicek is currently the Village Manager of Oak Park, Ill., a position she has held since 2012 when she was named the Interim Manager while working in the organization as a Department Director. She also worked in Downers Grove, Illinois as Village Manager and La Vista, Nebraska as City Administrator. Pavlicek earned a master's degree from the University of Iowa in Public Affairs and an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Economics.
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Candidate withdrew from further consideration.
Joyce Parker is currently the Deputy State Treasurer for the State of Michigan, since 2019. She has also served as the president and chief executive officer of The Municipal Group, an assistant city manager for the city of Jackson, township manager for Buena Vista Charter Township, city manager for the cities of Inkster and Saginaw and community development director for Flint, Mich. Parker earned a masters degree in public administration from the University of Michigan-Flint and an undergraduate degree in marketing from Kent State University.
Candidate withdrew from further consideration.
Eric Wobser is currently the City Manager of Sandusky, Ohio, since 2014. Previously, Wobser served as the Executive Director of Ohio City Incorporated and Special Projects Manager to the Mayor of Cleveland. He earned a juris degree from the University of Michigan Law School and an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Ohio.
