Fournier, Poche named city manager finalists; community town hall set for Tuesday
Daily File Photo by Colin Boyle
Snapper Poche and John Fournier, who both come from backgrounds in city management, will speak to residents at a town hall next Tuesday.
April 30, 2022
John Fournier and Snapper Poche are the final candidates in the search for Evanston’s next city manager, the city announced Friday afternoon.
Search agency Stanton Chase selected the finalists after identifying a field of 75 candidates from across the nation, according to a city news release. After reading resumes and conducting screenings, the council formally interviewed 5 candidates earlier this month.
The city manager role has been filled temporarily by interim city manager Kelley Gandurski since October 2021, taking over from former city manager Erika Storlie. During last year’s selection process for interim city manager, the city confirmed Gandurski would not be eligible for the permanent position.
Both candidates come from backgrounds in city management.
Poche currently serves as the program director for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, a program under the newly-created Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University that aims to equip senior city leaders with tools to address local challenges.
A graduate of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, Poche formerly served as the director of code enforcement, helping the City of New Orleans navigate recovery post-Hurricane Katrina. He has also worked in strategy for the National Park Service and in consulting for the federal government.
Fournier currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan and is the assistant city administrator of the City of Ann Arbor.
Previously, Fournier worked in the City of Pittsburgh as deputy chief of staff to former mayor Bill Peduto. In addition to working on transportation policy and municipal parking systems, he authored the city’s final Act 47 financial plan.
After a second round of formal interviews, council members unanimously selected Poche and Fournier as finalists. The pair will participate in a virtual community town hall Tuesday beginning at 6:30 p.m. Councilmembers will lead the discussion along with community stakeholders and, for the first time, senior city staffers outside of the council.
Residents can submit questions here in advance until Monday at 5 p.m.
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