La Grange Poised to Hire One of These Four as City Manager
The City of La Grange released the names and resumes of five finalists for the City Manager position last week.
The Record requested the names under the Texas Public Information Act after the City Council selected the candidates two weeks ago. The Council interviewed four of the finalists last Wednesday.
One of the finalists, Jerrod Greenwood, the current deputy town manager of Westlake, dropped out of the running before interviews took place.
The Council could name the new City Manager as soon as this Monday, Dec. 5.
The following are the four finalists who were interviewed last week, along with information from their resumes:
• Fred Bell of Los Fresnos has been the assistant city manager of San Benito since 2018. He also serves as the Emergency Management Coordinator of San Benito, which is located in the Rio Grande Valley near Harlingen. Prior to that, Bell served 23 years in law enforcement, including a stint as Police Chief for the City of Arcola, a suburb of Houston.
• Kevin Carruth of Rockport currently works as a field consultant for Strategic Partnerships Inc., a firm focused on business development and consulting for state and local governments. Prior to that he was the city manager of Rockport from 2012 to 2022, leading the town through 10 declared disasters including Hurricane Harvey. He has also held the city manager posts at Paris, Brownwood, Hillsboro and Daingerfield.
• Rebecca Gleason of Bastrop is currently the assistant city manager for community engagement in Bastrop, a post she has held since last year. She was previously the Bastrop Main Street Manager from 20192020. Prior to that, Gleason was a professor and dean of academics at Hallmark University in San Antonio. Gleason also has a background in law. She holds a J.D. from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and was a managing partner at the law offices of Stanford and Wadler in San Antonio.
• David Harris of Schertz is the city administrator for Balcones Heights, an enclave of San Antonio. He has held the post since 2014. He recently oversaw the creation of an economic development corporation for Balcones Heights and negotiated its purchase of 46 percent ownership of the City’s largest development, the Wonderland of the Americas shopping mall. Prior to his tenure at Balcones Heights, Harris was assistant city manager for the City of Schertz from 2006-2014 and city administrator for the City of Hill Country Village.