Salem city manager finalists Keith Stahley (left), Taylor Adams (top right) and Eric Zimmerman (Submitted photos)
Salem residents have a chance Wednesday evening to pick the brains of the three finalists running for city manager.
At a virtual forum scheduled for 6:30 p.m., candidates Keith Stahley, Taylor Adams and Eric Zimmerman will answer questions that members of the public submitted before 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The forum will be livestreamed on YouTube by Capital Community Media at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, and broadcast on channel 21.
The candidates were in Salem Wednesday for a day of interviews with the mayor, city councilors, city department leaders and labor union leadership, according to a Friday news release.
Following the interviews, city councilors may visit each candidate’s current home town before making a selection.
The city manager is in charge of the city’s day-to-day operations and reports to the Salem City Council.
Salem’s previous city manager, Steve Powers, retired Feb. 28 after six years with the city. Kristin Retherford, the city’s urban development director, has since served as interim city manager.
All three finalists have prior city leadership experience, and two are based in the Pacific Northwest, according to biographies released by the city.
Adams has been deputy city manager in Virginia Beach, Virginia, since 2015 and was previously chief administrative officer in Starkville, Mississippi.
Stahley has served as assistant city manager in Olympia, Washington, since 2019 and was previously the city’s planning and development director for 14 years.
Zimmerman most recently worked at the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh as and previously worked for Multnomah County, and as deputy city manager in Medford. He has served in the Oregon National Guard since 2007 and is currently assigned to a unit in Salem.
-Ardeshir Tabrizian
