The City of Portland has announced it has narrowed its search for a new city manager to three candidates, with a final decision expected next month. 

The city will hold in-person interviews with the candidates on April 14 and 15, with a community reception with the candidates open to the public on Friday, April 14, from 6-7:30 p.m. at City Hall in the State of Maine Room on the second floor. 

“Hiring a new city manager is one of the most important decisions the city council makes,” Mayor Kate Snyder said. “Portland’s city manager provides administrative oversight and management of all day-to-day municipal operations, oversees implementation of the council’s policy initiatives, and helps the city council to achieve stated goals. I look forward to interviewing our finalist candidates along with my colleagues, and I encourage the public to attend the community reception.” 

The city manager search subcommittee chose the three candidates from a pool of 77 applicants chosen from more than 700 responses.  

The list of finalists includes the current Interim City Manager, Danielle West, who took office on Nov. 2, 2021, to replace the former manager Jon Jennings, who left after six years and became city manager of Clearwater, Florida. Jennings was fired from that position in January.  

West, an attorney, began serving the city as corporation counsel in 2008. She served as counsel for “many Maine towns” before coming to Portland, according to a release from the city. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Oswego State University in New York and a juris doctoral degree from the University of Maine School of Law. 

Also on the list is John Curp, an attorney who was hired in Cincinnati in 2008 as city solicitor. More recently, he was chosen in January 2021 to be interim city manager there. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business-finance from Miami University in Ohio and a juris doctoral degree from the Indiana University School of Law. 

Alex McIntyre has worked for local communities in California and Oregon for the past 25 years. He also served as the chief assistant county administrator for Marin County, California, and most recently was chosen as interim city manager for the city of San Bruno near San Francisco. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Irvine.  

The council, according to the statement, plans to make an offer to one of the candidates by the end of April, and announce its decision at a meeting in May.