Austin Names City Manager Finalists And Schedules Town Hall Meeting For Austinites

The two candidates under consideration, Spencer Cronk and Howard Lazarus, will be introduced at the City Manager Candidates Town Hall Meeting…

Austin residents are invited to meet and hear from the two finalists for the Austin City Manager position at an event on Tuesday, December 12.

The two candidates under consideration, Spencer Cronk and Howard Lazarus, will be introduced at the City Manager Candidates Town Hall Meeting at the Austin Convention Center at 7:00 p.m. The doors will open to the public at 6:30 p.m. Free parking will be provided at the parking garages at 601 E. 5th Street and 201 E. 2nd Street.

Spencer Cronk, is Minneapolis’City Administrator (Manager), with a population of over 400,000. Before his current position, he was Commissioner, Department of Administration, State of Minnesota.

In 2013, Cronk at age 33, while being Minneapolis’ top administrator received the Business Journal 40 Under 40 award.

Prior to his moving to Minnesota, Cronk was a Senior Advisor to New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, while holding the position of Executive Director of the New York Small Business Services.

Howard Lazarus, 61, left the City of Austin in 2016 as Director of Public Works to take a job as the Ann Arbor City Administrator with a starting base salary of $215,000.

The public will hear presentations, listen to a moderated discussion, and ask questions of the candidates. This town hall will be aired live on ATXN, ATXN.tv, and on the City’s Facebook.

Following the event, the public will be invited to give their feedback on the two candidates. That information will be provided directly to the City Council to help aid in their selection of the City Manager.

Prior to the event, the two candidates will meet with members of the city management team, department directors, staff, public safety unions, and the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

City Council hopes to finalize their selection for City Manager by the end of the year.