SUNNYSIDE, Wash.-City Council could vote on Sunnyside’s next city manager as soon as July 16. The field of five has now been cut to just two finalists.
Mike Gonzalez and Aaron Palmquist met with the council and the community on Monday to get final feedback for council to consider.
The candidates were at a meet-and-greet hosted at Varietal Brewing Co. to interact with the people they could be representing.
“We just like the public’s input,” says Sunnyside Mayor Dean Broersma. “We’d like them to get to know them just a little bit, to be able to ask them some questions.”
Gonzalez and Palmquist both had multiple, lengthy conversations with the community about goals for the city.
Palmquist, the current city manager for Irrigon, Oregon, brings 25 years of experience to the table. He says he’s driven by a life motto: “How to get to yes.”
“What I mean by that,” explains the candidate, “is this violating anything ethically, morally, any values and legally? How do we get to yes to take care of people. We as a government are here to serve, and I don’t just say that as a catch all or cliche. That’s honest. That’s my heart.”
The candidate adds that being selected as the city manager would be an opportunity for both himself and the city. He wants to grow the city of Sunnyside while also improving himself after 13 years of the same job in Irrigon.
His competition is a former Franklin County Administrator.
Mike Gonzalez left that position in June and was also a finalist for the city manager position in Yakima but considers the position in Sunnyside a dream job.
“There’s great people in the community, there’s great small businesses,” says Gonzalez. “I feel like all those elements that are here really give us a great opportunity to grow in the future.”
The former news reporter and anchor sees potential for economic and community growth in Sunnyside. He’s already felt the sense of pride the community has and now hopes to grow it.
“With my experience in Pasco and Franklin County, I’m really good at working on visioning plans of 5, 10, 15, 20-year plans,” says Gonzalez. “I feel like all the assets are here. They just need a quarterback that can bring it all together, we can score a touchdown and make this one of the envious communities of the Pacific Northwest.”
Gonzalez and Palmquist could find out if they get the quarterback position after the City Council’s executive session Tuesday.
Though expected for a final decision after the meeting, there is a chance the search is extended.
“The decision could be one of several,” says Mayor Broersma. “It could be we’re going to pick one of the candidates, it could be we’re going to bring one back for another interview to get more information from them. And it could be we might possibly reject both of them and tell the recruiting agencies to send us more.”
