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Candidates for Ann Arbor City Administrator to be Interviewed Aug. 20

Archived News Release: August 11, 2020 - ​During a closed session on Monday, Aug. 10, Ann Arbor City Council selected four candidates to interview for Ann Arbor's City Administrator position. City Council, community member and city staff interview panels will take place virtually on Thursday, Aug. 20. The City Council panel interview will be streamed live at https://www.youtube.com/user/ctnannarbor. The schedule is:   

5 p.m. - Tom Crawford

5:55 p.m. - Joyce Parker

6:50 p.m. - Cara Pavlicek

7:45 p.m. - Eric Wobser

As set by prior City Council resolution, a special session will be held August 24 to further discuss the city administrator finalists. Additional details will be posted on the city website, www.a2gov.org, as available, including a community survey, on Aug. 20. 

Information on the candidates follows:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Media Contact Information

Lisa Wondrash
Communications Director
734.794.6152
[email protected]


Ann Arbor has 123,851 residents, spans 28.97 square miles and is frequently recognized as a foremost place to live, learn, work, thrive and visit. To keep up with City of Ann Arbor information, subscribe for email updates, and follow the city on Twitter and Facebook. The city's mission is to deliver exceptional services that sustain and enhance a vibrant, safe and diverse community.