By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC – Dowagiac City Council conducted three one-hour interviews Monday of prospective city manager candidates.
Todd Campbell has served as Sturgis assistant city manager since May 2003.
Keith Van Beek has served as assistant to Kentwood's full-time mayor since 2000 and was clerk of the population 47,000 city for two years prior to that.
Dale Martin has been Linden city manager, a community of 3,500, since November 1998.
All three candidates identified the quality of Dowagiac's housing stock as a shortcoming.
Mayor Don Lyons asked each to name a book read in the last six months.
Most department heads listened to the interviews, including police chief Tom Atkinson, clerk James Snow, finance director David Pilot, building inspector James Bradford, Chamber of Commerce/Downtown Development Authority program director Vickie Phillipson, Economic Development Coordinator Sandy Gower, treasurer Robin Coffey.
"We anticipate ranking them one-two-three at the end of this experience," the mayor said.
"Then there will be some site visits and further background checks" by a committee of Lyons and council members Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Comstock of Second Ward and Third Ward Councilman Leon Laylin.
Laylin said he seeks in Dowagiac's next city manager "a dedicated person who can really light a fire and give us positive direction. We've built a good base in the last 10 years with Bill."
"Now let's go to the next level," Lyons added. "With all the lakes, this is where people come to vacation, and we get to live here all year-round."