Moses Lake city manager candidates to meet with residents Wednesday

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake residents are being invited to meet the three finalists for the position of city manager from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Moses Lake Civic Center, 401 S. Balsam St.  

The new city manager will replace Kevin Fuhr, who resigned in June due to health reasons. Mike Jackson, a former city administrator and manager for the cities of Spokane Valley and Chelan, has been acting as interim manager since July.  

“This will be an opportunity for citizens to meet and ask questions of the candidates,” according to a press release from the city. “The goal of the city council is to appoint a new city manager by the end of December with a starting date of early 2025.” 

The candidates are Darren Coldwell, city manager in Page, Ariz.; Blaine Oborn, former city administrator in Oak Harbor and Aaron Palmquist, city manager for Irrigon, Ore. 

Palmquist has been Irrigon city manager for 11 years; prior to that he was the operations and quality manager in Prineville, Ore. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Reserve, most recently as a command sergeant major. He has a master’s degree in business and public administration from the University of Phoenix. 

Coldwell has been Page city manager since 2019. Prior to that he was the County Administrator for Lincoln County, Mont. His first job in public management was as mayor of Troy, Mont. He has a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communications, organizational emphasis, from the University of Montana.  

Oborn held city administrator jobs in Lake Geneva, Wis., and administrative jobs in Rhinelander and Kronenwetter, Wis., and Ronceverte, W.Va. Oborne has a masters degree in public policy and administration from California State University, and about 38 years of managerial experience. 

Interviews are scheduled for Dec. 12. 

“The candidates will take part in interview panels comprised of community members, department directors and council members,” the press release said. “Following the interviews, the panels will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate with the council members. After the interviews, if a candidate is chosen to move forward he will undergo a thorough background investigation.”