Palestine Selects a City Manager

PALESTINE – The Palestine City Council has named a new City Manager. He is Kevin Coleman, who is currently the city manager for Yoakum, which is north of Victoria. He has held that post since December, 2011. He was named to the position Monday night following a 45 minute executive session. Coleman and two other finalists interviewed with city officials October 18th and 19th. They were among the 40 applications from 17 states that were received for the post. The search was conducted by Strategic Government Resources of Keller, a government executive search firm.

Coleman has more than 13 years of local government experience, with eight years of city management experience, and more than nine years of nonprofit experience. He previously served as the Director of Development Services for the City of Kerrville, the Executive Director and Director of Construction for Abilene Habitat for Humanity and the City Manager for Dewey, Oklahoma. Coleman holds a bachelor of science in business administration and a master of arts in public administration from the University of Kansas.

Last week, Palestine Mayor Bob Herrington contacted interim city manager, Mike Alexander, and said that he would not be able to vote for Jack Coleman, one of the three finalists for the post. The mayor was quoted as saying, “Despite statements to the contrary, Jack knows this city inside and out. I consider him to be extremely knowledgeable of how government is supposed to work. In short, he has a brilliant mind. He knows the governance process, he knows the budget process and he knows where our weaknesses are, however, his appointment is likely to result in heightened division within the community.” The mayor confirmed he would vote for Kevin Coleman unless a majority of council decides to go back and look at other candidates as well.