Aug. 2 closed session could yield selection
Six people have applied for the vacant McKinley County Manager job, officials confirmed this week. The job, which in the past has paid upwards of $90,000, was last held by Bill Lee. Lee vacated the job in May to return to the Gallup-McKinley County Chamber of Commerce as chief executive officer. Lee also won the McKinley County Board of Commissioners District 3 seat, vacated by Tony Tanner.
McKinley County Attorney Doug Decker said a closed session meeting that the McKinley County Board of Commissioners could move the matter further along.
“If there is a closed session at the next meeting, then the job of county manager will probably be talked about,” Decker said. “Right now, the deadline to apply has closed.”
The candidates for the county manager post are:
Jeff Condrey: Condrey is the former County Manager in Valencia County (2014-2015). A Gallup native, he holds a B.S. in business administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. Condrey was briefly contracted with the county several years ago to work on special projects. Condrey is also a former Gallup city manager.
Patricia Herrera: Herrera is the office manager for the Computers, Networks, Education, Training and Co. She served the Gallup City Council from 1995 to 1999 and is a former city mayoral candidate. Herrera is a graduate of the University of LaVerne.
Michael Kozeliski: Kozeliski is a civil engineering graduate of New Mexico State University and is the founder and CEO of H2OATV, LLC, western distributor for Davidson Valve, a water security device for fire hydrants. Kozeliski is a former member of the U.S. Marines.
Chester Carl: Carl is the current executive director at the Hopi Tribal Housing Authority in Polacca, Ariz. Carl is a former CEO at the Navajo Housing Authority in Window Rock, Ariz. (1996 to 2006).
Roy Nichols: Nichols was a credit manager at Gurley Motor Company until February 2016. He is a Gallup High School graduate with college experience at San Juan College and the University of New Mexico. As a reference on his resume, he lists John Peña, who is the sole person in the history of Gallup to ever serve as city manager, finance director, mayor, and as a state representative.
Anthony Dimas: Dimas is a criminology and psychology graduate of the University of New Mexico. He also oversees the Department of Homeland Security for McKinley County. When Lee left the job to go back to the chamber, Dimas assumed the county manager post.
Lee, who earned $93,000 annually as county manager, said he’s optimistic the board of commissioners will choose a good fit for the job. He noted that the same board members chose him when he was up for the job nearly two years ago.
“They chose me, so I’d say their decision-making is pretty good,” Lee joked. “Seriously, I told them before I left that I know they’ll make a good decision.”
Decker said staff who work at the county would obviously like someone permanently in the manager job as soon as possible.
“Of course staffers want someone hired soon,” he said. “The final decision rests with the Board of Commissioners.”
McKinley County has seen four managers leave the job in as many years: Lee, Bruce Swingle, Richard Kontz, and Tom “Speedy” Trujillo have previously worked the post.
By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent
