A cardboard box salvaged from the warehouse, some ping pong balls and a colleague to record the ceremony – all the ingredients needed to hold a lottery determining which citizens would serve on a panel to interview the final two candidates to fill the Evanston City spot. Manager.
Evanston City Secretary Stephanie Mendoza held the lottery in her office at the sparsely populated Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
Competition to be one of the two representatives per ward was fierce.
About 90 residents signed up to be part of the process.
Orders were stamped with the time they were received. Residents who applied early to be part of the selection process seemed to fare better. Mendoza continued catching ping pong balls with the number 1 painted on them, the low number signifying early sign-ups.
The city is down to two candidates in its search for a new municipal manager. Michael Jasso, assistant manager for the city of Sacramento, and Daniel Ramos, deputy chief of staff/deputy administrator for the city of Baltimore are the two finalists, the city announced. A virtual city meeting with the candidates is scheduled for Sunday, January 9 via Zoom. (For more details, visit the city’s website, cityofevanston.org).
Three panels, including the Community Members Panel, a City Employees Panel, and a Non-Profit Business and Stakeholders Panel, will have the opportunity to meet and interview the finalist candidates.
These interviews are scheduled to take place from 5pm to 7pm on January 13th.
The drama about which the citizens would serve on the panel unfolded in the office of the Clerk of Mendoza on a frosty winter day.
Mendoza reached into the box, flicking the balls between selections.
“I finally found a use for the balls that were in the supply closet,” said the new employee.
Municipal Undersecretary Eduardo Gomez was at the side, recording the proceedings on his phone. Council member Clare Kelly, 1st Ward, was in the office, watching.
Ping-pong balls with the number 1 were withdrawn to several wards.
Assorted backgrounds
The list included several residents active in community affairs and included a former council member (Jane Grover), a former city secretary (Rodney Greene), a former mayoral candidate (Sebastian Nalls), an activist and former president. of the City Council of Recreation. (Rick Marsh) and an environmentalist (Wendy Pollock).
Here is the full list by ward, released on January 7:
1 – Betsy Wilson and Lynda Crawford
2 – Kate Schwartz and Beth McDonald
3rd – Allyn Wilcox Rawling and Jeanne Marie Olson
4 – Susan Barrett-Kelly and Wendy Pollock
5th – Rodney Greene and Scott Mangum
6th – John Frank and Megan Lutz
7th – Jane Grover and Pamela Ferdinand
8th – Linta Xarter-Weathers and Rick Marsh
9th – Sebastian Nalls and Shama Jacover
