PHOTOS BY CLAIRE FRANELL
The Hermiston City Council held a reception at the Hermiston Public Library Thursday to introduce the four finalists for the position of city manager to members of the community.
The city hired the Prothman Group to recruit candidates to replace Ed Brookshier when he retires later this year.
The four remaining candidates are Regan Bolli, Robert Layman, Catherine Sinnard, and Byron Smith, all of whom “have a pretty rich history of city management experience,” Greg Prothman said.
He served on the board of directors for the chamber of commerce in Utah County, where he was directly responsible for government relations among the several cities encompassed by the chamber.
Bolli is also an adjunct professor of business law at Snow College in Ephraim. He has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver, and a bachelor of arts degree in American studies from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
Bolli attended the reception with his wife, Erin. The Bollis were drawn to Hermiston partly because of the city’s size and its proximity to surrounding natural attractions, but mainly because of the community focus on family which the job announcement emphasized.
“There’s a faith-based council,” Bolli said. “That meant a lot to us as a family. We want to raise our kids in a place that accepts family because that really is our top priority in life.”
Layman has a master of arts degree in political science from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisc., and a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, Penn.
“We’re no strangers to the Northwest,” said Layman, whose wife, Pat, grew up outside of Portland. The Laymans also have a grown son who is interested in moving to Seattle; “so, from a personal standpoint, we very much are interested in being out in this area,” Layman said.
Professionally, Layman is enticed by Hermiston’s economy as well as its outreach to the Hispanic community.
“You can’t miss that it’s a very inclusive community; and to me, that’s very welcoming,” he said.
Sinnard has a bachelor of arts degree in geography and political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a master of planning and community development degree from the University of Colorado at Denver.
“One thing that really drew me to the ad for this job was the discussion of celebrating the culture and the diversity here, which is something I miss a lot about Pueblo,” she said.
Smith has been in city management for over 15 years and has served as city manager of Fort Madison, Iowa, for the last five years. Prior to his position in Fort Madison, Smith was assistant city manager and planning director in Poplar Bluff, Mo., “a city about the size of Hermiston,” he said.
Smith has a master of public administration degree from the University of Kansas, a bachelor of science degree in business management from Brigham Young University and an associate of arts degree in business administration from Eastern Arizona College.
“I hope that I have the chance to improve on the great things that have been going on here in the city of Hermiston,” Smith said. “As I’ve been researching the community, there are many things that are going in a great direction. And continuing to build the economic base here and move forward in this community would be an exciting opportunity.”
Smith was strongly attracted to Hermiston because of what he saw of the community’s approach to diversity.
“I grew up in southeast Arizona, where we had a diverse community, where we worked together trying to accomplish things across difficult lines — religious, ethnic, those types of things — and I was really excited to see that Hermiston wants to continue to do that. I want my children to see that as they grow up and have that opportunity that I did.”
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